Blades of Rage
by Bast the bard
Summary: This is the story of three players, united by fear of death in a video game and rage at the man who created it. The don't always get along, but nothing can break the bond they've forged in the deathgame, and by sticking together they might just escape. But monsters aren't the only thing they have to worry about in Sword Art Online... **HEAVY OC**
1. The Tutorial

**A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first fanfic so I hope you all enjoy it. Feel free to leave a review or comment if you think it's warranted. And if you really like it, follow this story. I'll try to upload frequently (don't quote me though).**

I slammed the door to my house and threw off my jacket, leaving it in a ball in front of the door. Clutching my treasure to my chest, I pelted up the stairs to my room. I quickly glanced into my sister's and brother's rooms before leaping into my own room. I was winded from running all the way home from the game store, but I was too ecstatic to care; I had done it. My fingers trembled slightly as I pulled the package out of the plastic shopping bag.

"One week," I whispered to myself. "I waited in that line for a week for this. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat." In my hands I held one copy of the latest VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online; one of the only 10,000 hard copies in the entire world. I smiled so hard it hurt. This was the pinnacle of my gaming life, the culmination of three years of waiting, researching, imagining, and yes even dreaming about.

Reverently, I peeled off the plastic covering and opened the case. There was a small pop and the aroma of a newly opened case drifted up to my face. I inhaled, enjoying the smell of fresh plastic. I gingerly removed the disc, careful not to bend or scratch it. Carrying it around the rim to keep any fingerprints off it, I carried the disc over to my brand new nerve gear rig. It took me months of saving to get it, but it was worth every single yen it costed. I opened the disc drive and placed Sword Art Online into the tray. There was a small whirring sound as the console read the data from the disc.

Kicking off my shoes, I dove onto my bed. I took the nerve gear helmet and placed it on my head, taking a deep breath as I did so. Exhaling loudly, I closed my eyes and lay back onto the sheets.

"Link start!"

My vision turned white and a stream of multi-colored lights flew by me. After a few moments, a prompt appeared, asking for my username and password. Reaching forward with invisible hands, I typed the two in. There was a small ding as my login was accepted, then the prompt vanished. I found myself looking at the avatar creation page, arguably the hardest part of any RPG. Not this time though, I had planned for this. In no time at all I had the avatar I had designed over the course of three years all ready to go. The name had taken months to decide upon, but I confidently entered Leo as my name.

I felt my body rematerialize, then everything went dark. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a large open area. I guessed that I was in the starting city. There were already a few players within view checking out the various shops and stands, although a few were just gazing in awe at the beauty of the virtual world around us. More new players were materializing around me, all of them as handsome and heroic as the rest. It seemed that every player had designed their avatars to be slightly stronger, taller, and better looking than the average. I was no exception to this.

I was tall and muscular, with short brown hair and piercing blue eyes. I looked like I was in my late teens. I had on a green shirt underneath a set of basic leather armor, with brown pants to go with it. My face was that of a young movie star or musician with flawless features and symmetry.

' _This is incredible'_ I thought to myself. Pinching my right fore-finger and thumb together and pulling down, I opened the menu. I immediately checked out my stats, sighing when I saw how low they were. I then perused the skill list, whistling softly when I saw how long the list was. This would give grinding a whole new meaning; it would take months to level up. The leather armor I had did little to improve my defense, but it was better than nothing. I grinned when I saw that I had been allotted 5,000 col, the ingame currency.

' _Time to do some shopping_ '

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Buckling my newly bought shortsword to my waist and fastening my round shield to my left arm, I strolled out of the Town of Beginnings into the plains surrounding the city. I figured that if I leveled up quick enough I could make it to the next town sooner than everyone else, putting myself in the perfect position to snag all of the good quests for myself.

I scanned the plains, trying to find a good spot to farm some mobs, preferably one away from other players. To the East I could see a large party fighting a pack of wolves. Westwards I could see two players fighting a boar, one with black hair and one with long red hair and a bandana. The North seemed clear, so I took off running in that direction.

Almost immediately a wolf jumped in front of me and blocked my path. Its red eyes gleamed with a murderous light, and it bared its teeth and growled at me. I drew my sword and got into what I thought was a good stance. The wolf sensed my aggression and growled louder, its black fur bristling.

The creature leapt at me and within the blink of an eye was nearly on top of me. I swung my sword at it with a downwards velocity, hoping to lop off its head. My slash landed, and I grunted in surprise as the wolf took little damage from the blow. The monster snarled at me, then lunged at me, trying to get my forearm in its mouth. Panicking, I swung my shield at it. Luckily I made contact, sending the wolf flying into some bushes.

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked myself. "Is this thing some kind of boss or something? Or am I just that weak? Maybe my sword-" I didn't get the chance to finish my thought, as the wolf came running out of the bushes towards me. I kept my sword tip low to deliver an upwards slash. Suddenly, my weapon began to glow with a blue light and began to tug in the direction of the wolf.

"What the heEEEEEE-!" My question turned into a strangled cry as I felt control of my body slip away. I charged the wolf, moving far faster than my body was normally capable of. I planted my left foot and swung upwards, cutting the wolf in half with an upwards strike from my glowing blade. The wolf howled in pain as its health bar dropped to zero. The monster glowed blue then shattered into polygonal fragments.

I stared at my sword, speechless. I had no idea what had just happened. I tried swinging my sword upwards again, but nothing happened. Bewildered, I tried again with the same result.

"You need to be in the proper stance," a male voice said. I whirled around.

A few feet away another player stood watching me. The player looked to be around my age and was even more handsome than I was. It was obvious that the player had taken a massive amount of time designing his avatar. Every little detail was chiseled and flawless, right down to the curve of his face and his hairstyle. There wasn't a single silver hair out of place, and his eyes were the color of melted gold. The player had on a white shirt and black pants. There was a rapier at his waist.

"Who are you?" I asked him, raising my sword. He sighed and held his hands up.

"It's alright," he said. "I'm not looking for a fight. That move you just did against the wolf, it's called a sword skill." I just stared at him blankly. "It's Sao's combat system," he continued. "By getting in the proper stance you can allow the system to take over in order to deliver an attack that's far more powerful than a normal hit."

"Sword skills huh," I said. "And all I need to do is get in the right stance?" I tried getting in the same stance I had when I killed the wolf. Immediately I felt the system take control, and I delivered a hard upwards slash. Even though I didn't hit anything I could still feel the force of the blow.

"There ya go!" The other player said encouragingly. He walked over to me and held out his hand. "My name's Dain, nice to meet you," he said. I hesitated for a second, then took his hand in my own.

"I'm Leo," I said. He grinned when I said this.

"Nice name," Dain said. "Leo...it suits you."

"Hey thanks man," I replied warmly. I was starting to take a liking to this guy. I gestured to the plains behind me. "You wanna train with me?" I offered.

"Yeah sure," Dain answered. He opened the menu and tapped a few buttons. There was a small bell-chime and a prompt appeared. It asked if I wanted to form a party with Dain. I chose yes and the prompt vanished. As it did, a second health bar appeared underneath my own.

"Let's get started," Dain said with a smile.

XXXXXXXXXX

Before we knew it, a couple of hours had passed. I had gotten to know Dain while we fought the mobs, and his personality was just as spotless as his appearance. He was witty, smart, and funny. His fighting skills were formidable as well; his speed and accuracy with his rapier was awe-inspiring. We took a break as the sun set, watching the perfect digital sun descend below the horizon.

"This is the best thing I have ever experienced in my entire life," I said breathlessly.

"You said it brother," Dain replied. "I don't even want to logout." I nodded in agreement. Nothing could ever be better than this. I closed my eyes in bliss and smiled.

Suddenly, a blue light enveloped Dain and I.

"Leo?!" I heard Dain call out. When the blue light faded away Dain and I found ourselves standing in the center of the Town of Beginnings, surrounded by thousands of players. They all looked as bewildered as we were. I could hear hundreds of players murmuring to each other.

"Did we get teleported?"

"Is this an event?"

"Who brought us here?"

"Does this have anything to do with the logout button not being there?"

' _What_?' I thought. ' _The logout button isn't there_?" I looked over to Dain. It looked like he had heard the player mention the logout button too and he started to lift his hand to open the menu. Before he could, the sky turned red and hundreds of little messages reading "System Announcement" appeared. From the cracks between the messages a blood-red slime began to ooze, coagulating together to take the shape of a giant, hooded figure.

"Is that a GM?" Dain whispered. All I could do was shrug. This whole series of events was giving me a bad feeling, the kind you get deep in your gut. It's not so much a feeling as it is a primal instinct; the urge to run and hide someplace where harm can't befall you.

"Attention players," the hooded figure began. The circle fell deathly quiet as all conversation stopped, everyone waiting in nervous anticipation for the message that was about to be delivered.

"I welcome you to my world. My name is Akihiko Kayaba, and as of this moment I am in control of this world. I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menu's: the logout button. Let me assure you, this is not a defect with the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be."

"What the hell...is he nuts?" I asked no one in particular.

"You cannot log yourselves out of Sao, and no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the nerve gear from your head," Kayaba continued in a deadly monotone. "If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the nerve gear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life." All around Dain and I players began to loudly voice their objections.

"You can't be serious!"

"This is crazy!"

"Is this for real?" Suddenly, one panicked voice rose above the rest.

"Hey, I can't get out!" A male voice said. A shudder went through the crowd and many players began to surge towards the exits, only to be blocked by an invisible barrier. To my left a bandana wearing player shook his head violently.

"This is crazy!" He exclaimed. "This is totally crazy!" I recognized him from the fields, he was one of two guys I saw fighting a boar.

"Despite my warning, the families and friends of some of the players have attempted removing the nerve gear, an unfortunate decision to say the least," Kayaba said. "As a result, the game now has 213 less players than when it began. They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world." Kayaba lifted his hands and several screens began to float around him. They appeared to be news clippings. "As you can see, international media outlets have round-the-clock coverage of everything… including the deaths. At this point it's safe to assume the likelihood of a nerve gear being removed is minimal at best. I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game."

"Like Hell it does!" A rage filled voice yelled out.

Deaf to the words of the angry and confused players beneath him, Kayaba continued his speech.

"It's important you remember the following: there is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to 0, your avatar will be deleted from the system… forever. And the nerve gear will simultaneously destroy your brain."

The entirety of the present players stood in stunned silence. Masks of disbelief were worn by everyone, myself included. Dain's confident and handsome face now wore an expression of silent terror.

"There's only one way for a player to escape now: you must clear the game," Kayaba said. "Right now you're gathered on floor 1, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and beat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss at floor 100, and you will clear the game."

"We can't clear all 100 floors," the red haired player said hopelessly. "That's freaking impossible. Even the beta testers never made it that high!" If I was capable of coherent thought I would have agreed with him.

"Last but not least, I've placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please, have a look." My hand moved on it's own, devoid of any commands I gave it. Kayaba wasn't lying, there was something in my items. I hesitated a moment, glancing around to get a clue as to what it was.

"What?" Dain suddenly exclaimed. "A mirror?" I glanced over at Dain and saw that he was in fact holding a small hand mirror. I selected my own mirror and it materialized in my hands. I didn't even bother looking at my reflection.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Someone screamed as everyone spontaneously became covered in a blue light. When I regained my vision, I was surrounded by thousands of unfamiliar faces.

' _Did I get teleported again_?' I wondered to myself.

"Leo!" Dain called out. "Where are you?" I quickly located the source of the yell, as it was coming from right next to me where Dain used to be standing. In his place stood a slightly less perfect version of him. My jaw dropped.

"Is...is that you Dain?" I asked the teen before me.

"Leo…?" He responded. We stood staring at each other. It didn't take me long to come to a conclusion.

"Kayaba used the high density scanners and calibrations to create digital recreations of our actual bodies," I told Dain. He nodded mutely, at a loss for words.

" Right now you're probably wondering why. Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and nerve gear, do this? Ultimately, my goal was a simple one: the reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my own design. As you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the tutorial, and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck."

The assembled players stood in shocked silence as Kayaba began to evaporate into a red mist. After a few moments Kayaba had completely faded away and the warning announcements disappeared to once again be replaced by the flawless sky. Nobody moved, even the silence seemed to be holding its breath, waiting for anxiously for something to happen.

Suddenly, a piercing shriek shattered the silence. The sound was all that was necessary to snap everyone out of their stupors. Screams began to ring out all over the circle and the crowd surged as players frantically tried to run away from their own terror. Dain and I stood in the center of the melee, both of us too stunned to move.

' _This...this isn't a game_.' I thought emotionlessly. ' _This is Hell_.' I felt myself pushed to the side as the bandana-wearing player ran by, being dragged by the raven-haired player. Glancing left, I saw that Dain had been knocked over and was being trampled by a horde of terrified players. I clenched my fists and bared my teeth in a silent snarl of rage.

Shoving players aside, I grabbed Dain and hauled him to his feet.

"Come on!" I yelled to him over the din. "We have to get out of here!" He nodded mutely. Clutching his arm in my hand, we ran through the crowd towards the exit. After what felt like a lifetime, we broke through and ran out of that godforsaken circle together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dain and I didn't stop running until we got to the edge of the city. There Dain stopped short, his face white as a sheet.

"W-we can't go out there," He said, terrified. "There's m-monsters. We could d-di-" He couldn't bring himself to say the last word, but I got the message. I grabbed Dain by the shoulders and looked into his eyes.

"Dain," I began sternly. "You heard Kayaba. The only way to get out now is to beat the game. The only way we can beat the game is to get stronger and fight our way to the end." Dain shook his head furiously.

"We don't have to," he said frantically. "Why not let the others go out and beat the game for us? We can just stay here where it's safe and wait it out."

"Dain, I would bet my life that the rest of the players are thinking that exact same thing right now. If we just stay here and hide with everyone else, then there won't be anyone out there fighting and we'll never get out of here."

"Then why don't we just wait for a little; y'know, let other people gather info so that the rest of us can get a read on how dangerous it actually is?"

"Dain if we don't go now, then we never will. Besides, who else is capable of getting that info and surviving long enough to tell everyone else? Think about it, we're both good fighters and we know how to use the sword skills. We could be everyone's only chance!"

"But what if-" Dain started.

I slapped Dain hard across the face. The fleshy sound echoed across the empty area. He was shocked into silence and he stood staring at me, his eyes full of anger, shock, and fear. I roughly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Listen," I said to him forcefully. "Stop being such a damn coward." At the mention of the word coward, a change came over him. The fear vanished from his face, replaced by rage. He smacked my hands off of him.

"I am not a coward," Dain spat.

"Prove it," I replied. "Fight." He hesitated, then drew his rapier.

"Let's get the Hell out of this death-game," Dain said. Relieved by his sudden conviction, I relaxed a little.

"Ready when you are," I said. Side by side, we walked out of the Town of Beginnings into the jaws of death.

' _I won't die here_ ," I thought. ' _And I won't allow anyone else to die either, not as long as I have breath in my lungs and a sword in my hand. I'm getting out of here. And no one, not even Kayaba himself and all of the monsters in Sao will be able to stop me_."


	2. Ulric

**A/N: Hello again! I hope you fellow SAO fans enjoy this chapter. Like I said I'm going to try to upload weekly and I'll let you know beforehand if that changes.**

"KREEEEEE!" The goblin screeched in pain as it's HP hit zero and it shattered into polygons. I exhaled loudly, letting my sword hang loosely in my hand. The goblin hadn't given me any drops, nor had it given me a decent amount of col or exp. But it did mean one less goblin that we'd have to fight in the dungeon. I wiped the sweat from my face and rummaged in my pockets for a health potion.

"Tired already?" Dain teased. I ignored him and guzzled down the potion, relaxing a little as my health gradually increased to full.

"So what if I'm tired?" I asked him. "We've been at it all day; fighting these stupid goblins and exploring the dungeon. And still no sign of the boss!" I kicked a rock angrily as I finished.

It had been almost two weeks since this death game started, and there was still no sign of the boss. The dungeon had proven to be an elaborate labyrinth, full of traps, dead ends, and millions of goblins identical to the one I had just chopped to bits. It had been slow going in the first couple days, with Dain still showing signs of fear whenever a monster attacked and our levels being so low that we had to run if there was more than two monsters attacking. But after those first heart-pounding days things began to get better. Dain gradually got over his fear and seemed to be fine, and our constant grinding increased our levels enough so that we didn't have to worry so much about fighting conservatively anymore. But our own small, selfish victories were in the shadow of the one devastating defeat that all of the remaining players in Sao had suffered...

In just two weeks, about 2,000 players had died.

When we overheard the death toll from a party that was in the same tavern as us, we couldn't even fathom the severity of it. Only after we saw the Monument of Life for ourselves did we begin to grasp the concept of 2,000 players being dead. Dain fell to his knees and stared in disbelief when we saw that Godforsaken obsidian tombstone. All I could do was clench my fists, visioning taking Kayaba's throat in my hands and choking the life out of him. Looking at those names made me realize how precious life was; how it could be snuffed out in an instant. After we had paid our respects to the fallen, I swore that I would never let anyone die as long as it was within my power to save them.

Sighing, I sheathed my sword.

"Let's head back to Tolbana," I said. "I'm running low on potions." Dain swung his rapier three times then slid the blade into his scabbard.

"You're the party leader Leo," Dain said with a slightly mocking tone. "Lead on." I rolled my eyes and started walking back the way we came, Dain close at my heels.

' _If only we had teleport crystals…_ " I thought wistfully. The small blue crystals could instantly teleport you to any town that was available, and were an invaluable tool for escaping a losing battle… or teleporting out of dungeon after a long day. Unfortunately for us, Dain and I didn't have any. The damn things were expensive, and Dain and I had to spend all of the col we made on food, board, and supplies such as potions. Not to mention maintenance on our armor and weapons. Dain didn't help our financial troubles as he INSISTED on buying new clothes almost daily. When I confronted him about it, he just flashed a smile and said-

"You gotta look great to be great Leo." I wasn't all that surprised by his answer, he looked like the type of person who would say that. There was also the fact that he sulked for days about how his "perfect body" had been deleted.

Out of nowhere Dain stopped and grabbed my arm.

"What?" I asked in alarm, pulling my sword halfway out of its scabbard.

"You hear that?" He whispered. I stood still, straining my ears. The only sound was my own heartbeat.

"I don't hear anything," I whispered back. "My listening skill isn't high enough."

"Sounds like a battle," Dain said. "Lots of goblins...must be a group of players. We should stay back, wait for them to clear out the goblins." I nodded and started to slide my sword back into place.

"Wait," Dain stopped me. He furrowed his brow in concentration and took a few steps forwards. "No way…that can't be-" he whispered in disbelief.

"What now?" I asked.

"This can't be right but...it sounds like there's only one player." My jaw dropped. It wasn't uncommon to run into small parties like Dain and I, but solo players were extremely rare. After the death game began, about 75% of the population stayed in the Town of Beginnings out of fear. The rest formed parties to clear the game. Having at least one or two other players made combat a lot less dangerous, especially in a dynamic game like this where the enemy AI learned as they fought. Going into the fields on your own was the closest you could get to suicide without physically throwing yourself off the side of Aincrad. The only advantage to fighting solo was that you didn't have to worry about divvying up drops, experience, and col.

In my eyes, solo players were nothing but suicidal maniacs who only thought about themselves.

"Sounds like the player is starting to lose ground," Dain said. "The goblins are getting really riled up." That clinched it. It didn't matter what I thought about solo players, I was not going to let that player die. I took off at a sprint.

"Come on!" I yelled. "We have to help them!" Without looking back to see if Dain was following I flew down the passageway. I ran as fast as the system would allow me, pushing my virtual body to the limit. My surroundings blurred together as a ran faster and faster. Soon I heard the sounds of combat; the screeches of the goblins and the clash of steel against steel.

I rounded a corner and saw an open doorway leading into a large room. Goblins were pouring into the room out of holes in the floor, growling and pushing each other. Inside the room a single player stood on a raised platform in the far left corner. The platform was about two feet off the ground and gave the player the height advantage he needed to keep the goblins at bay. Not as if he needed the extra height anyway.

The player was a giant, standing well over six feet tall. He wielded a massive two-handed greatsword, which he swung downwards at the goblins to keep them at bay. He wore a metal chestplate, but that was the only armor he had. His arms and legs were knotted with thick muscles, which tensed with each swing of his blade. He had hair so brown it was almost black, which he had cut short so that it was only marginally longer than a crew cut. His attacks were powerful, but they were getting slower with each swing, allowing the goblins to rush in and prick him with their daggers.

That was the downside of powerful weapons like his, they make you fatigue faster and they didn't have great defensive capabilities. The player only had about a third of his HP left, and he couldn't stop to drink a potion or use a crystal. Then, with a horrible grating sound, the door to the room shifted and started started to inch closed.

"God...no," Dain whispered in thinking, I ran to the door. Cutting down the goblins in my path, I got to the door and pushed against it, desperately trying to hold it open.

"Dain!" I yelled pleadingly. "Help me!" Dain took a step forward- then hesitated. He was shaking violently, helpless as the fear that I thought he had conquered consumed him. A cold hand passed over my heart as I saw his eyes dart in the direction of the exit to the dungeon.

I pushed with all of the strength I had, but the door was still forcing me back inch by inch.

"Dain!" I called out again. "If you leave now then the blood of this player will be on your hands! Do you want to live with that?! Do you want to be a murderer?!" Dain opened his mouth to say something, but the terror in his heart had taken away his voice leaving him mute. From behind me I heard a cry of pain.

I turned to look into the room and I saw that one of the goblins had managed to land a substantial blow to the player's right knee, leaving the player on one knee with his HP dangerously low.

"Dammit!" I yelled. I attacked the door with all the hate I had, snarling in anger as I continued to be pushed back by the trap. I wedged my shield in between the door and the doorway, temporarily stopping the door's forward motion. I held my sword with an iron grip and prepared to charge in the room to save the player.

A gust of wind blew by me. A gust of white and silver wind. I stared as Dain attacked the goblins from behind, skewering them with his rapier before they could even shriek.

"DiediediediediedieDIE!" Dain screamed, his voice filled with a demonic anger. It only took a few seconds for me to lose sight of Dain as blue polygons from the dead goblins filled the room and obscured my vision. I could still hear Dain's screams of hate and fear on the other side of the room, gradually increasing in volume as he killed more and more monsters. Chills went down my spine as his cries went from death threats and curses to a single continuous screech.

I was brought back to reality as my shield disintegrated, its durability depleted by the unstoppable crushing power of the door. I threw my body against the door once more, pushing my strength to its limit.

' _I won't let you have them!'_ I screamed in my mind. ' _You won't take the lives of these players!'_ I fought with everything I had, straining against the limits of the system. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dain with his arm underneath the player, supporting him while fending off the few remaining goblins with his free hand.

In that moment, I felt something inside me snap. I dug deep into my soul...and pushed the door back an inch. The polygons of the door flickered and glitched as the system struggled to control my own strength while maintaining the trap door's integrity. I planted my left foot and took a slow step forward, forcing the door to open even more. A red error message appeared on the surface of the door as a chunk of it fell away and shattered.

I screamed like a wild animal as Dain and the player dove past me. I jumped away, letting the door swung closed with a boom. There were faint scratching sounds as the goblins that were trapped in the room struggled to get past the door, and anguished cries could be heard as the goblins lamented the loss of their prey.

The three of us lay in silence for a few minutes, taking huge ragged breaths of air. The rage slowly drained from my body, leaving me filled with a hollow numbness. After I felt my heart rate decrease to a semi-safe level I sat up and regarded the player we had saved. My eyes widened as I saw that he couldn't have been older than Dain and I. His armor was mangled and his sword needed repairs as well, but his HP had gradually refilled to about 50%. I sighed with relief, then looked at Dain. He lay spread eagle, still clutching his rapier. He was white as a sheet and his eyes stared at some unspeakable horror thousands of miles away. He hardly seemed to breath.

"Why?" Someone said. I turned back to the player, who was now sitting up and looking at me questioningly. "Why did you save me?" He asked again.

"We couldn't just let you die," I answered without hesitation. "Every player that dies is just one less player that's fighting to clear the game." The player snorted.

"That was stupid what you just did," he said. "We all could have died."

"But we didn't, did we?" Dain retorted quietly from the ground. "And a thank you is in order as well. We SAVED you man. As in we prevented you from dying. You're acting like we did the wrong thing." The player was quiet for a few moments. He then mumbled something under his breath.

"I'm sorry, didn't catch that," I said. "Could you speak up a little?"

"I said...thanks," the player grumbled. "I appreciate you saving me."

"Much better!" Dain said enthusiastically. "A little gratitude goes a long way." There was a cacophony of rattling metal as the player slowly climbed to his feet.

"Hey, where are you going?" I asked him.

"Back into the dungeon," he replied. "Gotta find the boss room."

"Are you crazy?!" I yelled, jumping to my feet. "You almost died just now! Not to mention that your armor is falling apart and your sword is about to shatter. At least come back to town with us so that we can get you back into fighting shape-"

"No!" The player said sharply. "I can't afford to be wasting my time with little things like that, I have to get out of this damn game as fast as I can, and that means no stopping just because I almost died. And it certainly doesn't mean that I can take a break for stupid things like repairs."

"If you go charging back in there, then you will die, guaranteed." I told him. The player turned his back to us and starting walking back into the dungeon. "Wait!" I called after him.

"Just forget him Leo," Dain spat. "If he wants to go and get himself killed then that's his problem. I'm certainly not risking my life for him again." I ignored Dain and ran up to the player and grabbed his arm. The player stiffened and stopped.

"Let. Go." He growled.

"No," I responded. The player then turned and faced me. He glared down at me with eyes filled with anger, and a hint of disbelief. I glared right back at him, the two of us locked in a silent battle of will. His hand twitched towards the sword slung across his back, his eyes never leaving mine. I ignored the gesture and instead focused on pouring all of my pent up hate and frustration into my gaze. I wanted to bore right through him with my expression.

The player's eyebrows lifted a fraction of an inch; he was shocked that I had been able to match his intimidation with my own. He bared his teeth at me and for a moment his expression seemed like that of a demon. I smiled then, but the grin had no warmth or humor. The smile was that of someone who knew the outcome of the situation and found the prolonged resistance of another laughable. A change came over the player as he realized this and he seemed to shrink a little, admitting defeat.

"Fine," he whispered savagely. He pushed past me and stormed off towards the exit. I sighed heavily and gestured to Dain, who hauled himself to his feet and walked over to me.

"Man," Dain said to me. "He's a piece of work alright. Why the Hell were you so insistent on saving that guy Leo?" I can already tell that he's just going to be a huge pain in the ass for us."

"Maybe," I said absently. I started to walk towards the exit with Dain close behind. ' _But maybe not…"_.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It only took a few minutes to make our way out of the dungeon and back to Tolbana. Nobody spoke the whole time, which made the trip seem twice as long as it really was. Thankfully, we didn't run into any more monsters on our way back. Dain and I led the player to a tavern that we had eaten at the past couple days. The food was cheap and tasteless, but it kept us feeling full at least. Dain went in first to scout out a table. The player was about to follow, but I stopped him.

"Listen man," I began. "I went to get out of this game just as much as you do, if not more. But that doesn't mean that I want to throw my life away to do it. And you shouldn't either. You can't take stupid risks, they'll just get you killed. If we want to beat this game and get back to the real world then we have to take it one battle at a time. Rushing into fights that you have no chance of winning is not going to get you out of here any faster. Do you get what I'm saying?" The player nodded.

"I get it," he said. "I'm sorry for being an ass, I just have to get out of this game."

I put my hand on his shoulder.

"We will, just stick with us. But if you don't mind me asking, why the suicidal rush?" The player was silent for a moment. He was clearly unsure as to whether he wanted to answer or not. I took a breath to tell him to forget about it, but he cut me off.

"I have someone I need to get back to," he said. I nodded understandingly.

"They're lucky to have you, whoever they are," I told him. He nodded and cracked a small smile. I grinned widely at the sight of it.

"Not a bad smile," I said. "You should take a break from the whole 'I want to murder everything' look sometimes." The player made a grunt of gratitude. "By the way, what's your name anyway? After this whole thing we should at least call each other by our names."

He took a moment, then said:

"Ulric." I stretched out my hand.

"Nice to meet you Ulric, I'm Leo." He took his hand in mine and we shook. "Welcome to the team."


	3. The Queen of Monsters

Chapter 3: The Queen of monsters

 **A/N: Hey guys! Unfortunately my publishing schedule is going to be a little off for the next few weeks because of finals, but I'll try to get new chapters out as often as I can. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **tf330129: Thanks for your support! I'll keep it up as long as people like you continue to make me feel like my writing is worthwhile to read.**

 _The sky was the crimson and ash fell like snow. I tried to move my arms and legs, but I was frozen in place by some invisible force. All I could do was look around, and what I saw made my blood freeze in my veins. I was standing at the shore of a lake of blood. The sand beneath my feet was a gray color, the color of decomposed flesh. All around me weapons stuck out of the ground. Axes, knives, swords, lances, halberds, hammers, maces, all of them covered in blood and in need of repairs. The sickening stench of blood and rot made me want to puke._

" _Leo…" a voice rattled. My eyes flew to the ground as a skeletal hand reached up through the sand. The rest of the arm followed the hand, then came a skull. The skull looked up to me and weakly clung to my leg. "Why...didn't you… save me…?"_

" _Oh Jesus… Dain?" I asked the corpse in horror._

" _Leo...you promised," Dain's skeleton said accusingly. "You promised you would protect us...but we're still dead. Why Leo?" The rest of Dain's skeleton clawed it's way out of the sand and stood up next to me. He was missing most of his left arm, and there was a spear sticking out of his torso. "For your failure we sentence you to death."_

 _A massive corpse lumbered over to stand behind me. The corpse wasn't fully decomposed like Dain, pieces of rotting flesh still clung to parts of the corpse's body. Half of his skull had been cleaved away, but I still recognized what little of the face that remained._

" _Ulric- you too?" I asked. The corpse of Ulric didn't respond, it instead glared at me with eyes full of hate. Ulric gripped a black sword in his hands. The blade was chipped and scratched but it would do the job just fine._

 _Dain forced me to my knees as Ulric lifted his sword high into the air._

" _Wait!" I cried out. "I didn't want this! I swore I would save you! It wasn't my fault! Please!" The sword began to fall. I closed my eyes and screamed as the blade rushed towards my neck._

My eyes flew open and I lurched upright in bed. Cold sweat poured down my face as I looked wildly around. My heart was pounding like it was trying to force its way out of my chest. My breaths were fast and ragged.

I relaxed as I recognized the room from the inn Dain, Ulric, and I were staying at on floor 3. I fell back onto the bed and covered my eyes with my right arm.

' _Just a nightmare.'_ I thought miserably. I checked the time and saw that I still had another hour before I had to get up and meet Dain and Ulric. Sleep was out of the question, so I got up, equiped my gear and left the inn to try to find a decent meal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I sat on a bench on the outskirts of the town of Balsk, munching on a bread roll. The food was dry and tasteless, but it kept me full. As I swallowed the last bite I saw my companions stroll towards me. Ulric looked like he had been awake for some time already and seemed fresh and rested. Dain on the other hand looked like he had been dragged out of bed kicking and screaming. His hair stuck out at random patches and angles and his clothes were disheveled. He stumbled blearily behind Ulric and his eyes were barely open. As the two got closer I stood up and stretched, clasping my hands above my head.

"Morning," I said. Dain yawned then glared at me.

"I despise you Leo," Dain said venomously. Ulric rolled his eyes.

"Why do we go through this every morning with you Dain?" Ulric asked, exasperated.

"Because this is total crap!" Dain yelled. "Why do we have wake up every morning at the ass-crack of dawn just to spend all day in the fields and dungeons? Why not take our time, wake up at a reasonable hour, get a nice hot breakfast, maybe flirt with the female players a bit, and have plenty of time to make ourselves look presentable. I mean just look at me! I look disgusting…" Dain trailed off as he tried to smooth his hair down.

"Because," I started. "If we don't get out early then all of the good hunting spots will be taken by the other players on the front lines. You're lucky that we sleep in beds at all; the other players on the front lines just bring sleeping bags and sleep in the safe zones outside the towns."

"That's what we should be doing," Ulric said. "Imagine how much time we waste every day having to walk to and from the fields. Those minutes add up."

"Thats a good idea Ulric," I said with a grin. "Maybe we sho-" In the blink of an eye Dain had his hands around my throat.

"Never," Dain spat. "I'll never do it. I'd sooner die." I smiled at Dain and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Relax, I wouldn't do that to a friend." The murderous fire in Dain's eyes went out and he let go of my throat. Ulric stood behind Dain, chuckling at Dain's fury.

"You guys are bastards," Dain said.

"At least you're awake now," Ulric replied. Dain growled in response.

"Come on you two," I told them. "We're wasting valuable grinding time." My party members nodded and followed me out of town and into the fields.

XXXXXXXX

"The Fields" had become the common slang used by players to describe the monster-ridden areas outside of towns and safezones, but the term wasn't the most accurate description. For example, most of floor 3 was made up a giant forest, with the towns residing in massive clearings. You couldn't find a field anywhere on this floor.

The monsters of this floor were mostly giant bears and insects, following the whole forest theme. They weren't all that strong to fight, but the real danger came from ambushes. The foliage provided the mobs with the perfect setting for surprise attacks, and only players with high enough searching skills could detect the creatures lying in wait in time to mount a suitable defense.

Keeping this in mind, I had Dain take the lead as he was the only one in our little band who had the required search skill level. We systematically cut our way through the forest with Dain in front, followed by Ulric and I at his 8 and 4 o'clock. As soon as Dain spotted a mob, we would make a triangle and allow them to come to us. It was slow going, but it proved to be an extremely efficient farming method. This was the third day since floor 3 had been "unlocked", and Dain Ulric and I were among the top 1% of players level-wise, all thanks to our system.

Our high levels had increased our travel time to the dungeon considerably, but we were dismayed to find that it had already been discovered and partially mapped by a solo-player the day before. Not only that, but the prick was a beater.

' _What was his name?_ ' I thought to myself as we trekked through the forest. ' _Kiri...kiro...something.'_

I shook my head. It didn't matter what his name was; he had made it there first so now he had the best shot at the good loot. Dain and Ulric had nearly thrown hissy-fits when we learned about the dungeon's discovery. Dain moaned about all the col they would lose to the "self-centered solo player" and Ulric groaned about how "the damn beater" was going to take all of the best weapons and rare items for himself.

I was also upset, but not as much as my party-members. I didn't care so much for the money or equipment, and the glory was just a pleasant distraction from our digital reality. As long as it meant getting out faster, I didn't really mind who got where first, as long as they got there quickly...unless it was a beater. Beaters could go ahead and die for all I cared.

However, now that the dungeon had been opened and mapping had started, it meant that we didn't have to fight so hard to be the first ones there. It also meant that we could take today to search for the special monster that I had heard about this morning.

"Dain," I called out. "Hang on a sec'." Dain stopped and turned to me. Ulric seemed to stand at attention next to me; like a soldier awaiting his orders.

"Alright boys," I began. "Little change of plans for today. The dungeon is already being explored so there's really no reason for us to hustle over there. I thought that it might be more lucrative for us to try and hunt down a rare monster." Dain raised an eyebrow.

"A rare monster?" he asked. "Is it strong?" I shrugged.

"I don't exactly know," I admitted.

"So how do you know about it?" Ulric asked.

"This morning I woke up a little early, so I went to try and get some food. While I was out, I overheard an info-broker telling a player about how there was a rare monster wandering the forest, and that the reward for killing it is a massive ruby."

That part wasn't exactly honest. I didn't actually overhear anything. I had to pay nearly almost all of our col to get that from the info-broker, Argo. I knew that if I told them how I had actually gotten the scoop on the monster that they would be beyond pissed, especially Dain. As I had handed over the col to Argo I fervently wished that the reward would be able to fill the hole in our wallets that I had created.

Dain's eyes lit up like a little kid's on Christmas when he heard about the jewel.

"A ruby you say?" He practically sang. "And a massive one at that? Oh you can count me in Leo. I can't wait to get my hands on that treasure…" Dain was almost drooling at the thought if the stone. Ulric was a little more subdued in his reaction, but I could tell that he was interested. He stiffened at the mention of the ruby and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards. He remained composed however and his face returned to a blank poker-face after a moment.

"What kind of monster are we talking about here?" Ulric asked. I gulped and took a moment before answering.

"A giant spider." It felt like the air grew colder at the mention of the beast. Dain froze mid-fantasy and Ulric wrinkled his nose in disgust. I continued: "It's called Arachnia the spider queen and it lives in the Northern end of the forest."

Dain shuddered.

"Maybe the ruby isn't worth it after al-" Dain stopped mid-sentence as Ulric turned and started to head North.

"Hey Ulric!" I called to him. "Where are you going?"

"It's just a bug!" He yelled over his shoulder. "A spider is still a spider no matter how big it is! It'll go splat just like any other insect." Dain and I looked at each other as Ulric kept walking away into the trees.

"We could always-" Dain started.

"No, we aren't leaving him," I stated firmly before walking off to catch up with Ulric. Dain exhaled loudly and pushed his hair out of his face.

"I would never suggest that…" Dain whispered before following.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Most of the players who were currently fighting on floor 3 steered clear of the Northern end of the forest, for a host of reasons. For starters, the Dungeon and all of the towns were in the other directions so no one had bothered exploring the area. Secondly, all of the mobs that stalked the undergrowth in the North were far stronger than the creatures in the East, West, and Southern regions. Next, the trees in the North were taller and had more leaves so that the canopy blocked out the sun, creating a permanent twilight. Lastly, the area was rumored to be cursed. Any player who entered the area said that they felt like they were being watched at all times, and a few had even had hallucinations.

Naturally, these reasons were enough to keep most players out of the area. However, the info-brokers had said that in the heart of the Northern woods there was a clearing covered in a giant web. At the center of the web is a giant ruby the size of cantaloupe, and it's guarded by Arachnia and her spawn.

Argo had told me that the easiest way to find Arachnia was to follow the trail of silk. Sure enough, almost immediately after we entered the Northern part of the woods we found a strand of spider silk the size of a thick piece of rope heading further into the woods.

"Keep an eye out," I told Dain and Ulric as I drew my sword and fastened my shield to my arm. Dain and Ulric both nodded silently and drew their own weapons. The three of us got edgier as we moved through the woods. The air smelled sickly sweet and a gray mist curled around our feet. Random sounds caused us to jump every few seconds; a branch snapping, the crunching of a pile of dead leaves, a chittering sound.

"AAH!" Dain screamed in shock as he jumped high in the air.

"What?!" I asked in alarm.

"I s-saw somet-thing," he stuttered. "Sp-spider. Big spi-spider." I searched the area. After a moment I relaxed.

"There's nothing there," I reassured Dain. "This place is just messing with your head." Dain nodded, but his eyes continued to dart frantically all around us. After that incident we all kept seeing things in the corners of our eyes. Shadows just on the edge of our peripheral visions; a sudden movement; a flash of red eyes in the bushes. By the time we got close to the clearing all three of us were shaking in fear and we clutched our weapons with white knuckles.

The clearing was the circular, with massive trees circling the exterior. There were white balls the size of mini fridges strewn about. A few of them were cracked and looked like something had forced its way out of them. About 20 feet in the air a massive web formed a roof over our heads. As I took a step forward into the clearing my foot crunched on something. I slowly looked down…

A spider the size of a small dog was crushed beneath my foot. Green slime oozed from its black body and its legs twitched as it died. The tips of its legs were a silver and appeared to be coated in metal so that its "feet" were all deadly blades akin to rapiers. I shuddered and kept moving forward.

After a few moments the three of us back to back in the center of the clearing. We looked around, frightened and confused.

"Where's the boss?" Ulric whispered.

"Not sure," I replied softly. "Keep your eyes peeled." Dain scanned the area, then looked up. His eyes narrowed.

"Guys," he said. "Look at the web." Ulric and I looked up to inspect the web. It didn't take long for us to see the problem.

"It's been cut…" I breathed in shock. Strands of silk hung limply all across the web, and near the center a massive tear had nearly cut the web in half. Green blood dripped down from the web.

"Someone's already fought the boss," Ulric said, disappointed. We collectively sighed.

"What a waste," I remarked.

"My ruby…" Dain mumbled.

"Pack it up boys," I told my party-mates, starting to walk towards the exit of the clearing. "We're going hoJESUS CHRIST!" My order turned into a shriek of surprise as an axe came spinning end over end from the forest and buried itself in the ground between my feet. Dain, Ulric and I lept away from the direction the axe came from and raised our weapons defensively.

We could clearly hear a group of players running towards us. They were closing fast.

"Get ready for a fight boys," I warned Dain and Ulric. Dain nodded quickly and Ulric bared his teeth like an animal, swinging his massive greatsword in small circles. The first player burst from the trees, running towards us at full speed. I raised my sword to activate a sword skill...and stopped.

The player's face was a mask of fear and tears streamed down his face. He wore a red cloak and glasses, but they had been broken. When he saw us he sobbed:

"Please help us! It'll kill us all!" We all stared at him in confusion.

"Wha-?" I started to ask. I was cut off as three more players came sprinting out of the forest, followed by the biggest arachnid I had ever seen. The grotesque creature was the size of a tank and it had 8 crimson eyes filled with bloodlust. It moved incredibly fast despite its enormous size and its steel-tipped feet ripped the ground into shreds wherever they made contact with the ground. Its skin was black and covered in short, bristling hairs. It had 2 health bars and a red cursor. Above its health was the beast's name: Arachnia the Spider Queen.

"Holy…" Dain whispered in awe, involuntarily taking a step back. I gulped loudly.

' _What did I get us into?_ ' I asked myself in fear. The sobbing player grabbed my sleeve and clung to my arm.

"Please save us!" He pleaded. "I don't want to die!" Before I had the chance to respond, Arachnia chittered triumphantly and impaled one of the players with her leg. The player screamed in pain and shock as he clung vainly to the limb sticking out of his chest. His health dropped quickly to zero and he shattered into polygons.

"HITOSHI!" The player next to me screamed in pain. The other two players turned and raised their weapons defensively. One of them had a lance which he held diagonally across his body. The other had the armor of an axe-wielder, but was holding a dagger in his hand.

"Don't do it!" I called out to the players, reaching forward as if to pull them away from their deaths. Arachnia didn't hesitate. She knocked the lance out of the lancer's hands before lunging forward and ripping his head from his body with her serrated fangs. The player shattered immediately. The axe-wielder yelled defiantly and charged Arachnia.

The Spider chittered, almost disgusted, and swept the player's legs out from under him before stepping forward and putting two of her legs into his chest. The player weakly slashed at Arachnia's legs before disintegrating.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Three players had just been murdered mere feet away from me. I started shaking violently.

' _And I just stood here and let them die.'_ I thought savagely. I started to breathe harder as rage and sorrow took hold. Words cannot describe the pure hatred I felt for that monster. It was like a molten ball of iron in my chest. A shriek of fury tore its way out of my throat as I sprinted towards the boss. The blood pounded in my ears like drums, blocking out the surprised exclamations from my friends. The spider's leg shot forwards towards my chest but I slashed it aside before ramming Arachnia with my shield. My bones vibrated with the force of the impact as Arachnia stumbled backwards, hissing in surprise and pain.

I didn't let up, slashing away at Arachnia's bloated abdomen with my sword. Arachnia chittered in frustration, unable to fight back effectively because I was too close to her body for her to try to impale me.

I screamed again and activated a sword skill, rushing towards Arachnia to deliver a powerful uppercut with my sword. My slash landed, bringing Arachnia's first HP bar to 0, but I was then frozen due to the skill-cooldown.

Arachnia hissed and raised two legs high into the air to deliver the killing blow. I sneered in defiance, daring the creature to strike me down. Her legs came towards me in a blur of motion as I struggled to move.

There was a flash of sparks and steel sang against steel. Arachnia shrieked in pain as one of her legs fell to the ground. Green blood spurted out from the stump, showering me and my savior with the sticky fluid.

"Ulric!" I exclaimed.

"Damn insect," he murmured. Arachnia's health had dipped into the red after losing her leg and she wobbled unsteadily on her remaining seven legs. She glared at us with hate in her eyes.

"Well?" Ulric asked the boss. "Is that all?"

She chittered in anger and took a step forward...only to collapse. Without all of her limbs, she was unable to properly distribute her weight and her legs gave out.

Arachnia flailed on the ground, slashing the air with her legs and gnashing her chelicerae. Ulric scoffed and strode forward. He stopped at Arachnia's head.

"Now you die, Queen of monsters," Ulric said as he raised his sword in an executioner pose.

There was a blur of silver and Ulric grunted in pain. I gasped as one of Arachnia's legs impaled Ulric's right shoulder. He grabbed the leg that had stabbed his shoulder and ripped it from Arachnia's body before stamping on her head. Arachnia's head exploded in a shower of breen blood and brain matter before her body shattered into polygons.

A congratulations screen appeared, showing Ulric and I the rewards we had gotten from the battle. The experience was enough for us both to level up, fully restoring our health. Ulric grunted in disgust.

"Told you," he said to us. "The thing went splat just like every other bug."

"You idiot!" Dain yelled. "You almost died!"

"Nah," Ulric replied cooly. "I had it all under control."

"Under control my as-" Dain was cut off by a wail of despair from the player that had survived.

"What have I done?!" The player screamed into the sky. "I killed them! I killed them all! Oh what have I done?!" The player buried his face in his hands and sobbed uncontrollably. I walked over to the player and kneeled down beside him.

"Hey man," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "There's nothing you could have done. That field boss was just too strong. It's not your fault."

"But it is!" he wept. "I'm the one who told them all about her! I-I-I-I thought they could handle it! They were all strong, stronger than me! Why did they all die?! Why not me?! It should have been meeeeee!"

"No," Dain said reassuringly. "Don't blame their deaths on yourself. How could you have known how strong she was going to be? Arachnia surprised us all-"

"NO!" The player cut Dain off. "I knew I knew I knew I knew! I knew what her attacks were, how strong she was, everything! I knew it all! I was arrogant and greedy! I thought that we could handle her! I thought for sure that we could handle her!"

The three of us stared at the weeping player in shock.

"You...knew?" Ulric asked.

"...How?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious Leo?" Dain spat. He's a goddamn beater.

 **A/N: *gasps* a cliffhanger?! The suspense! Seriously though, sorry for the longer chapter, I couldn't stop writing. This will have to be a two-parter, so expect that chapter coming next week. Hope you liked it!**


	4. The Beater

Chapter 4: The Beater

 **A/N: Hey guys! This is the second part to the chapter I put out last week. Sorry for the wait, it's been crazy with school ending, but now that I'm on break I'll get back to publishing once a week. Hope you like this chapter!**

The player we saved was curled in a ball on the bed, his face covered with dried tears and snot. Dain sneered in contempt as he closed the door to the player's room.

"Well?" Dain asked me. "What are we gonna do with him?" I sighed and rubbed my eyes.

"I don't know," I admitted.

"Well I know what we should do," Dain began. "We should leave this inn, skip town, and never have to see that bastard's weepy face again."

"Come on Dain, have a heart," I said. "He just lost his friends. Give him a break." Dain didn't like my answer too much. His eyes grew dark and he clenched his fists.

"A...break?" Dain asked through gritted teeth. "You want to give him a break? That piece of trash got his friends killed. Killed! He knew exactly what he was up against and he didn't give a damn! His own arrogance led to those deaths, and what did he do? He cried like a baby. Like a goddamn baby. He should have died fighting alongside the rest of his party; but instead he ran away like a little bitch and watched his friends get cut to pieces. As far as I'm concerned he's the one who murdered those players, not Arachnia."

"Listen to yourself!" I said to Dain. "There's nothing he could have done for his friends, he just would have died along with the rest of them. And we don't know that Arachnia was the same in the Beta as she was in this game. Maybe she had different attack patterns, or more health, or more defense-"

"Stop Leo," Ulric cut me off. "Don't defend the Beater. Dain is right. He ran away from a fight, and his friends died as a result of his own cowardice." I gawked at my friends.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing," I said in disbelief. "You two want to abandon him? Just like that? He's a person, dammit! He needs us! I'm not defending him because I like him; I hate beaters just as much as you two. But we need to look past that right now. What if we leave and he kills himself? Then we'd be no better than him."

"If he kills himself," Dain said, his voice heavy with malice. "Then this world would be less one good-for-nothing beater. Nothing more." I stared at Dain in shock.

' _Is this the same Dain I've gotten to know these past few weeks?'_ I could hardly believe that the hate-filled teen in front of me was the same suave, money-crazed, witty person I had come to know and trust. I blinked, then glared at the players in front of me.

"Leave," I growled. "Both of you. Get the Hell out of here."

"Are you serious Leo?" Dain asked incredulously. "You're really going to try to save hi-"

"I SAID LEAVE!" I screamed, drawing back my fist. My fist became veiled in purple light as I lashed out at Dain. There was a flash of white light as the blow was stopped by the system, preventing me from striking Dain.

Now it was Dain's turn to stare at me. For a moment, his face was filled with an indescribable hurt and sadness, but was quickly replaced by a cold glare.

"If that's how you want it," Dain said, his words coated with venom. "Let's get out of here Ulric." Dain pushed past me and headed downstairs to the exit of the inn. Ulric looked at me pleadingly, his eyes begging me to go after Dain. For a moment I was tempted, but my resolve strengthened when I thought of the player dozing just a few feet away.

"Just go," I whispered, my voice lacking the conviction I felt just moments ago. Ulric nodded slowly. As he moved past me he hesitated, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Good-bye, Leo." I took a shuddering breath, but didn't respond. Ulric sighed heavily and followed Dain, leaving me standing in the empty hallway. My vision blurred and I stumbled to my own room. I collapsed onto the bed as my vision was replaced by darkness. I licked my lips and swallowed.

' _Huh, weird. I didn't eat anything salty today.'_ I thought as sleep took me.

XXXXXXXX

When I woke up the next morning I felt sick and run-down. I stood up and stretched, then coughed violently.

' _I hope Dain has some antidot-'_ my train of thought came to a screeching stop as the events of last night came rushing back. My heart sank as I realized that my only two friends were gone and that I was now alone in this godforsaken world. The blood rushed to my head and I had to sit on the bed to keep myself from falling. My friends were gone, driven away by my own stubbornness.

"What did I do?" I asked myself in despair. I had thrown away my companions to save one player, and a beater at that. As that thought crossed my mind, a heavy thump reverberated through the wall from the room adjacent to mine.

I leapt to my feet and threw open the door. I ran a few feet to my left and practically broke down my door in my haste. I pushed the door open and stared.

The beater was sitting on the floor, tears streaming down his face. Around his neck was a noose he had tied together with bedsheets. The knot had come undone, which caused him to fall to the floor when he jumped off the bed.

"Please," he whispered. "Please just kill me. I should be with them." Before I had felt pity for the Beater, he had watched his friends die after all. But now that I had lost my only friends as well because of his misery I felt nothing but a burning disgust for the pathetic kid at my feet.

I crossed the room in two long strides and grabbed the beater by the collar of his shirt, hauling him to his feet and slamming him against the wall. He looked absolutely terrified...which only made me angrier.

"Listen to me you little shit," I said. "You don't deserve to die." His chin quivered as he looked at me, his brown eyes wide with terror. "You let your friends die. Do you understand? Their deaths are your responsibility."

"Don't you think I know that?!" He wailed. "I know I killed them! That's why I have to die, so that I can be with them! I need to tell them I'm sorry, and beg for their forgiveness!"

"You don't deserve their forgiveness!" I shouted. "You led them to Arachnia, knowing full well how strong she was! You knew they weren't ready, yet you arrogantly assumed you could protect them. Am I right?"

Tears poured down the beater's face as he nodded.

"That's what I thought." I said. " And they paid the price for your arrogance. And yet you think you have the right to die? You haven't even come close to paying them back yet! Your suffering pales in comparison to the suffering they felt as they disintegrated; the loss their families must be feeling. You don't want to die because you want forgiveness, you want to die to escape your own guilt. You disgust me you filthy beater trash!"

The light in the beater's eyes went out and he went limp in my hands. I let him crumple to the floor. I heard him whisper something.

"Come on, speak up." I said. He mumbled again."SPIT IT OUT YOU FUCKING CRYBABY!"

His head snapped up and he looked me dead in the eyes, his face a mask of misery.

"...How?" He finally asked. "How can I ever pay them back?"

"Live," I said. "Live for them. When you ran you forfeited your right to live for yourself. Now you're going to live the lives that your comrades didn't get to have. Understand?"

"I...guess so," he said. "But I can't live more than one life."

"Then I suggest that you live one hell of a life," I told him. "Fight like 4 players, laugh like 4, love like 4, LIVE like 4."

In that moment, for the first time since I had saved him he didn't look so pathetic. Instead of self-pity and misery, his eyes gleamed with determination. He started to get to his feet, but struggled a bit.

I reached down and hauled him to his feet. He looked at me with surprised gratitude.

"I won't lie to you," I began. "You have a difficult task ahead, but remember the debt you owe your friends." The red haired player nodded.

"I'll never forget."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

20 minutes later the two of us stood outside the inn. The player had fixed his glasses and changed out of the muddy and torn clothes he had worn the day before. He now wore a black shirt and pants with a long red cloak. I patted him on the shoulder.

"See ya around," I said. "Try not to die."

"I can't afford to die now," he said. "Thanks for everything…" He looked at me questioningly.

"I'm Leo," I answered with a grin. "And yourself?"

"Masaru." He said. "Good-bye Leo." He turned and started to walk away. I watched him for a moment, then turned to go back into the inn.

"Hey Leo!" Masaru called out. I turned back around and he waved. "Keep helping players like me! You have a gift!" I smiled and waved back. Masaru kept waving for a moment, then kept walking.

I turned on my heel and took a step forward...and bumped into another player.

"Sorry about tha-" I started, only to go mute in shock. "DAIN?!" Dain grunted.

"I see you saved him after all," Dain remarked, nodding in the direction Masaru went.

"Yeah, he just needed to be kicked in the ass a little." I said. "Where's Ulric?"

"Right here," I jumped as a voice answered from right behind me.

"Jeez Ulric, you're quiet for such a big guy." I said.

"Sorry," Ulric said remorsefully. I laughed.

"Don't worry, I'm just glad you guys are back." I said with a smile. "Wait. Why are you back? I thought you two never wanted to see me again."

"Well," Dain started. He kicked the ground with his toe. "Ulric kinda convinced me to come back. He helped me realize that I was being an idiot and that you were just trying to help someone who was grieving."

"...That's it?" I asked.

"You should have been there man," Dain responded with a faraway look in his eyes. "He was so eloquent. So profound. It was best speech I have ever had the pleasure of hearing."

"...Really?" I eventually said. "No offense Ulric but you don't really talk much. It's just hard to imagine you moving Dain like this with your words." Ulric nodded understandingly.

"None taken," he said. Dain cleared his throat.

"Anyway, we're sorry for leaving. We realize now that it wasn't right of us to condemn that player so quickly, and we both overreacted. Can you forgive us?"

I was silent for a few moments, gravely staring at the two players before me. Dain's expression went from hopeful to dismayed as I continued my silent act. Suddenly, I smiled widely.

"Of course I forgive you two idiots." I said, laughing. "It wouldn't be the same without you two. Beside you have all of our money so…"

Dain and Ulric laughed, and I laughed right along with them.

"Come on," I said with a grin. "The boss room was discovered last night and they need us for the raid. You two up for it?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Dain replied. "Lead the way Leo."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Dain Ulric and I stood with the raiding party outside the boss room. The dungeon had followed the forest theme of the floor, and the corridors looked like the inside of a massive tree. Strange, glowing vines illuminated the passageways, and the mobs guarding the entryway to the boss room were spear-wielding toads.

Players of all shapes and sizes milled about; talking, strategizing, and changing gear. The three of us stood on the exterior of the crowd, waiting for someone to step forward and take the lead. Suddenly, Dain elbowed me in the side.

"What the he-"

"Isn't that the beater who beat us to the dungeon?" Dain asked, fuming. I followed his gaze and saw the player he was talking about. He was young, with messy black hair. He wore a black cloak and had a longsword strapped across his back. He stood apart from the other players, but gazed at the crowd like he wanted nothing more than to join in on the conversations going on around him.

"That's him," I nodded. "I think his name is Kirito." Dain grunted and cracked his neck.

"I'm gonna go give him a piece of my mind," Dain said, taking a step towards the player.

"Dain!" I said in alarm, reaching for his arm.

"Alright!" Someone yelled. "Everyone listen up!" Dain and I froze and looked to the front of the crowd where the voice had come from. Standing in the front of the crowd were three players. Two of the players were tanks, fully decked out in heavy armor and carrying battle axes. The one in the middle was smaller than the two tanks. He had spiky orange hair and a goatee. He was wearing plain chain mail for armor.

"For you newcomers, I'm Kibaou." He said, pointing to himself. "I'm going to lead this boss raid today. My scouts have already gotten a good look at the boss so we know what we're dealing with. The boss is a giant lizard-like monster. It carries no weapons and uses it's tail to attack directly. The tail is covered in spikes and the tip resembles a mace. The creature can also spit acid which causes paralysis and poison. Any questions?"

"What's its name?" Someone called out from the crowd. Kibaou scowled.

"That's not important. Instead of worrying about that you sho-"

"It's important to us!" Someone cut Kibaou off. There was a murmur of agreement from the crowd.

"Fine," Kibaou spat. "The boss's name is Apep the scaled. Happy?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Now let's do this!" Kibaou drew his sword. "Open the door!"

Everyone screamed and rushed forward as the door to the boss room swung open. As we charged in I glanced over to Dain and Ulric. Dain was screaming and running forward like a madman and Ulric had his signature snarl on his face.

In that moment, I felt strangely peaceful. This was how things were supposed to be; my friends and allies around me, charging into battle side by side. I wouldn't have had it any other way. I would gladly die for these players around me, and I didn't care if they would do the same for me. If me dying meant someone else living, then I wouldn't hesitate.

' _And I wouldn't have it any other way.'_


	5. Eyes Unseen

Chapter 5: Eyes unseen

 **A/N: Guess who? Yeah I bet you never thought you'd ever hear from me again. To be honest I wasn't sure you would either. But rejoice! I have returned from extended break from writing! Before we start with the new chapter I would just like to say I am so so so sorry for being away for so long. Really, I am. I never meant for it to be like this.**

 **If you want to know the whole explanation for my absence, I've posted it at the end of the chapter. But for now, on with the story!**

" _Begone, foul beast!" Xavier roared, drawing his sword from its scabbard. The holy blade shown with a white light, cutting through the gloom of the underworld. The demon shrieked at the sight of the blade and covered its eyes with its clawed hands, whipping its tail in agony._

" _By the power this divine sword possesses I will smite you demon!" Xavier said. "Prepare to feel the sting of my-"_

Ulric blinked and peered over the pages of the book. He eyed the mouth of the cave, straining his ears. He listened hard for a few seconds, then shrugged.

"Thought I heard something," he said to himself. He shifted and pressed his back against the boulder he had been leaning on. Not for the first time, he found himself gently rubbing the surface of the stone, inwardly marveling at the fact that the game-makers had even taken the time to properly program the gritty, cool feeling of a boulder.

As the image of the creators of the game entered his mind Ulric grunted in anger and quickly jerked his hand away from the rock.

"Damn this game and its creators," he murmured. "If I get out of here alive I'll find them, then I'll-"

Ulric paused. The sound was louder that time, more distinct. He moved towards the mouth of the cave, surprisingly quiet despite his massive frame.

He cupped a hand around his ear and concentrated, straining his ears.

"...ric!" Ulric closed his eyes and listened hard.

"Ulriiiiic!" Ulric's eyes flew open.

"Oh sh-" he whispered, then turned and sprinted back to the boulder where he had left his belongings. He grabbed his sword and strapped it to his back, then started rolling up his bedroll. The yelling was getting louder now, two voices frantically screaming Ulric's name.

Ulric's heart beat like a drum as he threw his group's miscellaneous belongings in a sack and tied it shut. He could hear the voices of his friends clearly now, as well as inhuman shrieks and the pounding of dozens of feet against stone. Ulric frantically scanned the area, checking to make sure nothing was missed.

"Ulric for the love of God be ready!" Leo screamed from inside the cave. Seeing nothing, Ulric reached inside his breast pocket and pulled out a blue crystal the size of a deck of cards. As he did so, Dain burst out of the cave, rapier in hand. His breathing was labored and his body was covered in red scratches that dripped polygons. His clothes, once pristine, were filthy and torn.

Hot on his heels was Leo, looking equally as terrified and generally worse for wear. In his hands was a burlap sack roughly the size of a grapefruit, which leo clutched with a white-knuckled grip.

"Ulric do it now!" Leo screamed. At that precise moment, dozens of monsters began to pour out of the cave, howling in anger.

The dwarves were absolutely furious, screaming and swinging their pickaxes in anger. Despite their small size, the dwarves were rapidly gaining on the players.

"Teleport, Haell!" Ulric yelled, holding the crystal high above his head. Dain reached Ulric first, grabbing onto his arm as he started to glow blue. As the two started to fade, Leo dove, tackling the two just as the crystal completed its effect.

XXXXXXX

The trio reappeared in a flash of blue light, tumbling out of the hole in space and landing in a heap at the base of the teleportation platform in Haell. The three lay there panting, waiting for the last echoes of the dwarves' cries to fade from their ears.

"Get a room you three," a player snickered. Dain lifted his head and glared at the player who had spoken.

"Piss. Off." Dain said. The player shrugged and moved away. Dain glared at the player's back for a moment before pulling himself out of the pile.

"Let's never do that again," Dain said, dusting himself off.

"Agreed," Leo grunted, hauling himself up. Then he began to smile. "And we'll never have to." He held the burlap sack aloft and grinned. "We did it boys!"

XXXXXX

Leo slammed the burlap sack down onto the counter.

"One Eye of the Dwarf King, as requested," Leo declared. "Pay up Agil." The massive player raised his eyebrows.

"You really got it?" Agil asked in a deep baritone. Leo gestured to the sack.

"You tell me," Leo said with a smile. Agil picked up the sack and peered into it, then smiled widely.

"Well I'll be damned," Agil laughed. "That is some fine work. I didn't know if you guys were gonna be able to pull that off. Everyone says that place is a deathtrap, even a friend of mine won't go near it."

"I guess our fearless leader didn't get the memo," Dain deadpanned, rolling his eyes.

"Come on Dain it wasn't so bad down there," Leo said. "And we lived didn't we?" Ulric snorted.

"Barely," he remarked quietly.

"Don't you start too Ulric," Leo said, turning to face the giant. "It's hard enough to put up with Dain's constant whining without you hopping on the bandwagon."

"Constant whining?" Dain asked incredulously. "So I'm not afraid to speak my mind; that doesn't make it whining. If anything I complain the least of the three of us." Ulric chuckled quietly after hearing that and tried to disguise it as a coughing fit, hiding a grin behind his mouth.

Dain whirled around to face him, his face set in an angry scowl.

"And at least I talk at all, unlike some of us here," Dain growled. Ulric didn't reply, and instead loudly cracked his knuckles and took a step forward.

"Alright settle down you two," Agil said, stepping in between the two. "Try not to fight in my shop, it's bad for business. Let me just run to the back real quick and grab your payment, then you can go hash it out in the street. Sound fair?" Dain humphed, crossing his arms.

"Fine by me," he said.

"Ditto," Ulric replied. The two continued to glare at each other as Agil went through a doorway behind the counter and disappeared into the back area of the shop. He came out a few moments later, carrying a small chest under one arm.

"Here you go, thanks again for running that little errand for me you guys," Agil said with a grin, laying the chest across the counter.

"Anytime Agil," Leo replied. Stepping forward, he grabbed the chest and began to undo the clasps holding it closed.

"Come on Leo I'm not that cheap," Agil chuckled.

"I know Agil, I trust you," Leo assured the man, opening the chest and revealing the stack of col glittering inside. "Dain just likes to admire the col we receive whenever we finish a job." Sure enough, Dain lunged towards the chest hungrily, his eyes devouring the sight of the money. Agil laughed and gently closed the chest.

"Maybe you and that chest should get a room," Agil laughed.

"Don't tempt me Agil," Dain sighed, stepping aside to let Leo store the chest in his inventory. The trio shook hands with Agil, then left the shop.

As the three left the shop, Dain felt warm breath on the top of his head. Dain shuddered and turned to chew out the player responsible for creeping him out, his mouth moving to deliver one of his trademarked "career enders". His quip died in his throat as looked up to see Ulric regarding him coldly.

"So what was that you were saying back there?" Ulric asked, ice in his words. "Something about me never talking?"

"Oh come on Ulric, you know I didn't mean it," Dain blustered, backpedaling away from the advancing behemoth. "I just say things when I'm upset you know that. Now let's just put this behind us and move on, like gentlemen." Dain paled when he saw that his words were having no effect on his party-mate.

"Hey Ulric come on buddy, we're friends right?" Dain pleaded, his speech becoming frantic. "Yo-you wouldn't do anything to hurt me over a silly little comment right?" Dain jumped as he felt his back hit the building behind him. He cowered as Ulric stopped his advance.

"Please Ulric don't hurt me!" Dain begged. "My hair looks really really good today and I don't want to ruin it…" Dain trailed off as he realized that the state of his hair would do nothing to deter Ulric.

Ulric glowered at Dain, then smiled widely and clapped Dain on the shoulder.

"Oh Dain," Ulric chuckled. "I can't possibly hurt you."

"Re-really?" Dain whimpered.

"Of course," Ulric assured him. "We're in a safe zone, so your health won't get depleted. But this will still scare the hell out of you." Dain tried to dive out of the way but Ulric had an iron grip on his shoulder.

Dain screamed as Ulric picked him up with one arm with the ease of picking up a bag of laundry. Dain flailed wildly and tried to escape, but Ulric just held him there by the collar of his shirt.

"LEO!" Dain screeched. "HELP ME!"

"This is between you guys, you work it out," Leo replied, casually leaning against a land post.

Dain screamed again as Ulric cocked Dain back behind his head.

"Have a nice flight!" Ulric said, throwing Dain like a football. A screaming, crying football.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The couple sat at one of the tables of the outdoor cafe, tea and pastries lying untouched between them. They stared lovingly into each other eyes, wordlessly expressing their love for each other. The brown haired player gently reached across the table, taking the black haired girl's hand in his. The girl felt her heart blossom in her chest at his touch and she smiled, feeling utterly content. The brown haired player took a breath.

"Listen Al-" he began.

"aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The couple jerked out of the moment and looked around for the source of the scream. The brown haired player looked to the sky and his eyes widened in shock. He dove across the table and tackled the girl out of harm's way just as Dain made landfall on their table, sending shards of wood, pastries, and silverware flying everywhere.

The couple stared at the groaning player lying in a ball on the remains of their romantic lunch date, eyes wide in shock.

"What the fu-"

"Is he gone?" Dain groaned, cutting the girl off.

"...Is who gone?" The brown haired player asked? "What's going on here?" Dain ignored the question, looking around owlishly. As he looked back the way he came he moaned in fear and started to slowly crawl away.

The couple followed his eyes and saw a massive player striding purposefully their way. The two looked at each other, then the brown haired player moved to stand in the path of the hulking player.

"Um...excuse me?" He said. "Are you the one who just threw him?" He asked, gesturing to Dain.

Ulric stopped and regarded the player in front of him, then looked over his shoulder at the remains of the table.

"I'm sorry to have ruined your meal," Ulric apologized. "Now please excuse me." Ulric gently pushed past the player and made his way over to Dain. Ulric placed his foot on the small of Dain's back, anchoring him to the spot.

Dain whimpered and went limp, waiting for Ulric to pick him up and hurl him again. He sobbed softly when he felt Ulric reach down and grab his shirt, hauling him off the ground.

Ulric held Dain up, regarding him. Dain weakly stared back, his eyes pleading. Ulric stared back for a moment, then set Dain on his feet and began to dust him off.

"Did you learn your lesson?" Ulric asked his quivering friend.

"Wh-wh-what?" Dain blubbered. Ulric sighed and put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Are you sorry for what you said?" Ulric asked. Dain nodded violently.

"Yesyesyesyesyes," Dain chattered. "Please don't throw me again!" Ulric laughed and grabbed Dain, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. Dain wheezed as all the oxygen in his virtual lungs was squeezed from his body, his ribs bending from the pressure. Dain scrabbled weakly at Ulric's back, then his eyes rolled back in his skull and he promptly passed out.

"Oops," Ulric muttered, throwing Dain over his shoulder. Ulric turned to leave and saw the bewildered couple gaping at him. Ulric nodded to them before making his way around the wreckage and heading back the way he came.

The couple watched him make his way up the street to where a player was lying on the ground, his body shuddering with the force of his laughter. They watched as he pulled the laughing player to his feet and the trio walked off.

"The big one reminds me of-" the girl began without taking her eyes off the group.

"Yeah," the boy agreed with a nod. "A lot less angry, but still really similar."

XXXXXXXXXXX

When Dain came to he was lying in a bed, his rapier and armor neatly piled at the foot of the bed. He tried to sit up and hissed as his body protested angrily.

"Look who's finally awake," Dain heard Leo say. He looked to his right and saw Leo and Ulric sitting at a small table playing with some trading cards. Ulric lay down a card from his hand and smiled as Leo narrowed his eyes and exhaled angrily.

"Frost giant does battle with royal guard," Ulric declared, moving his card forward so that it faced Leo's. Leo sighed and reached for a pair of blue dice.

"Roll for defense," he muttered, consigned to defeat. He rolled the dice with another sigh and rubbed his eyes with his palms. Leo took his hands away from his eyes when he heard Ulric snort in disbelief. Leo surveyed the table and grinned at the sight of two sixes staring back at him.

"Royal knight defeats frost giant in single combat," Leo declared with a triumphant smile. "You lose Ulric." Ulric muttered something with a scowl and gathered his cards and dice from the table.

"I don't get how you two enjoy that game," Dain said, leaning back against the pillows.

"You really want to start now? After the day you've had?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow. "Need I remind you why you've been in that bed for the past four hours?" Dain shuddered and tried to sit up again, this time having much more success than his previous attempt. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, swaying for a moment before finding his balance.

"If I've been out for four hours then that means it's time for dinner," Dain said, buckling his rapier and scabbard to his waist.

"You're right about that," Leo replied. "Coming Ulric?" Ulric nodded and got to his feet.

"What are you guys in the mood for?" Dain asked, stepping out into the inn hallway. "I could go for some stew myself."

"Stew sounds good to me," Leo said, following Dain into the hallway.

"Same here," Ulric rumbled, closing the door to the room and locking it. The trio made their way out of the inn and up the street, talking and laughing without a care.

XXXX

Three hours later the trio stumbled out of their second tavern, giggling and struggling to stay upright. Leo looked back and forth, squinting blearily.

"Which ways th' inn?" He slurred. Dain stumbled over and struck a pose, pointing down the south street.

"Is tha way cap'n," Dain mumbled before collapsing in the street in a fit of giggles. Leo started giggling too and lurched over to Dain. He went to grab Dain's arm and missed. With a chuckle he tried again and latched onto Dain's sleeve.

"Come on," Leo said, pulling on Dain's sleeve. "We gotta git back." Dain growled and yanked his arm away.

"Whatta you talkin 'bout?" Dain asked. "We're already back. I'm lyin in bed right -hic- now, see?" Leo squinted and looked around before nodding profoundly.

"Yer right, good call," Leo said before swaying and falling next to Dain. "Time fer sleepies." The two began snoring loudly, then began giggling again. Ulric stared at his party-mates before lumbering over to them and picking each one up. He threw Dain over one shoulder and Leo over the other before heading south down the street.

"He-hey Ulric," Leo began with a sleepy grin. "How come you cin walk? Arn't you drunk too?" Ulric looked at his leader stoically, his face a sober mask. Then he broke into a huge toothy grin.

"I'm absolutely wasted boss," Ulric declared. The trio hooted with laughter, tears streaming down their faces. Dain laughed so hard he began to slide off Ulric's shoulder before righting himself, causing him to laugh even harder.

A couple houses down a figure stood in the shadow of the doorway, watching the three players stumble up the street. A black hood covered their face in shadow and a black cloak covered the rest of their body, hiding their features from sight. If they had a weapon, it was hidden beneath their cloak.

"Would you look at that," they remarked in a genderless monotone. "Those three are stuck in a game where dying in-game means dying IRL, and yet they're still able to laugh and have a good time." The player mused over how the trio had spent their day, visualizing a mental slide show of them returning to Haell, the big one throwing the handsome one all over town like he was a ball, the leader and the big one player cards for hours, quietly chatting while their companion slept, then most recently, the three of them eating and drinking like there was no tomorrow. And the whole time at least one of them had been smiling. They seemed to be close friends, brought together by the game. They weren't letting it dominate their thoughts, unlike the thousands of other players trapped inside SAO with them.

"They seem so happy..." the player said. "They're perfect." The player allowed themselves to grin, but their was no humor in the expression. It was the grin of a predator watching its prey, completely oblivious to the fact it was being hunted.

"I almost can't bear to tear them apart," the player lamented. "Still, what's the point of having toys if you aren't going to play with them." The player watched the group turn and make their way around a corner, disappearing from view. The player moved out of the shadow and turned to leave.

"Get a good rest you three," the player began. "Soon enough you're going to need all the energy you can get." The player then made their way down an alley before disappearing in a flash of blue light.

 **I hope you all liked that chapter, it certainly felt good writing it.**

 **Now for the explanation:**

 **When I last updated this story back in June, I was just starting to get into my Final Exams, and studying for those started to dominate all of my time. I tried to write as much as I could, but after a few exhausting nights I decided to just take a short break from writing until school was out, then I would go back to updating in earnest. After school let out I gave myself a few days to relax and catch up on sleep and meals, then after I fully recovered from my rest I sat down and started to write the next chapter...and immediately hit a rut.**

 **For some reason I just couldn't transfer my thoughts and ideas down onto a document. I would write for an hour, reread it, dub it garbage and angrily delete it all. I knew what I wanted to write but no matter what I did it just wouldn't come out the way I wanted it to. It was too short, too long, too descriptive, too vague, too funny, too dark.**

 **To put it simply, I had writer's block something fierce.**

 **I tried all the tricks I could think of. I watched SAO to try to get inspiration. I read books and fanfiction. I worked out before I wrote. I ate before, during, and after writing. I watched anime, played video games, got a good night's rest before trying to write.**

 **No matter what I did, I just couldn't get out of my slump. June became July, then July became August and I still couldn't write to save my life. As summer began to wind down I admitted defeat and became resigned to the fact that I would probably never update this fic again.**

 **I then began to work on/brainstorm other projects. I made plans for several stories, including Naruto, Gurren Lagann, Pokemon, Star Wars (which I started and published the first chapter, "Memories"), Fairy Tail, YuGiOh, Boku No Hero Academia, and an original story idea that I'm hoping to maybe get published one day. As I planned and brainstormed these fics I would find my mind drifting back to this story and its characters.**

 **With a pang of regret, I would force it out of my mind and try to work on my other projects.**

 **And you won't believe what happened next, as cheesy as it sounds.**

 **During Thanksgiving break in November I sat down and wrote the first few pages of my original story, as well as some pages on my other projects. All told, I probably wrote for a solid five hours straight. When I finally closed my laptop and got in bed, I passed out immediately. And while I slept, I dreamt about my fic.**

 **Crazy shit right?**

 **I straight up dreamt almost all of my fic, and when I woke up and scribbled it all down, I found that it actually wasn't garbage. In fact, it was actually good. Really good.**

 **I spent a month refining my notes and planning every little nuance of the story, and when I was finished I set about writing this chapter. It took a little bit for me to refamiliarize with the story and the personalities of my characters, but once I got into the swing of things the words just flowed.**

 **And so, with joy in my heart, I can announce my return to this story. My updating schedule won't be as rigid as it was months ago, because I think that once a week schedule was one of the reasons I burned out so badly. Also I'm still going to be working on my star wars fic as well as my original story, along with a plethora of pet projects.**

 **But rest assured, I am going to update this story as much as I can so don't worry too much.**

 **And as usual, feel free to leave a review if you have any suggestions, comments, or criticisms. And if you feel so inclined, follow and/or favorite story, it means the world to me.**

 **Lastly, a HUGE shoutout to TheSib for giving me permission to give a few of his characters little cameos. Kudos to whoever picked up on who they are. Sib is a great writer and his characters and stories are awesome, go check him out, you won't regret it.**

 **See you all on the flipside.**


	6. The Girl

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter! Thank you all so much for your support, all your positive feedback is really encouraging. You all are awesome. I hope you like this chapter, and as usual if you have any feedback, comments, criticisms, or passionate declarations of undying love feel free to leave a comment, or PM me. And if you really like it, go ahead and like and/or follow the story. And without further ado, the chapter!**

 **Chapter 6: The Girl**

 _Leo was falling. He felt the sinking sensation in his stomach and could hear the wind howling past his ears, deafening him. He looked around wildly for something to grab onto, but all around him was nothing but inky-blackness. He flailed, trying desperately to slow his fall, only managing to set himself into an uncontrolled spin. He opened his mouth to cry out, but choked violently as the wind rushed down his throat._

 _Tears streamed out of Leo's eyes as he blindly searched his surroundings again for something, anything that could save him. He reached out and felt his fingers brush something soft. Straining his arms, he reached out as far as he could and grabbed whatever was falling beside him. As the object emerged from the veil of darkness Leo gasped. In his arms was a girl._

 _She was wearing basic leather armor and red clothes, with brown hair and a mouse-ish face. The girl looked at Leo and smiled sadly. Leo tried to say something to her, but his words were snatched away by the wind. He tried again, but the girl delicately lay a finger against his lips. Leo gave the girl a quizzical expression, but she just shook her head and smiled again. She closed her eyes and a single tear ran down her cheek, glistening against her face despite the absence of light. Then, she pushed herself away and out of Leo's grasp. He yelled and tried to reach out to her, but she was already gone, falling far below him and out of sight._

 _Then, like a curtain being lifted, Leo could see all around in every direction. And all around him players were falling. Some were laughing, others were crying. Most were stoic, expressions of despair set firmly on their faces as they fell. They were varied when it came to level and gear, but most had on the basic armor and sword that all players received when they first logged in to SAO._

 _Leo looked up and saw one player falling fast, arms tucked at his sides and angled down. As he came closer to Leo's height Leo could say the player's mouth moving, his head moving from side to side to address the players near him. Leo strained his ears to hear him, but it wasn't until he fell past Leo did his message ring clearly in Leo's ears._

" _A quick death of my choice is better than being murdered by some monster!"_

 _Leo started and stared in shock at the player's shrinking form. Leo looked around to see if anyone was equally a shocked, but instead saw nods and expressions of concurrence on the faces of the players around him. The realization hit him with a jolt, and he grew cold at the thought. It was clear to him now why all these players were falling..._

 _They were committing suicide._

 _As the thought crossed his mind the darkness returned, though he could still see the players falling all around him. Then Leo felt a rumbling vibration with a familiar cadence. When he realized what it was the blood froze in his veins._

 _The vibration was the chuckle of an enormous monster waiting in the blackness below._

 _Leo looked down just as the beast opened its eyes, hundreds of bloodshot ovals with red pupils staring up hungrily as the players fell towards it. The monster tilted its head back and grinned at them, displaying dozens of jagged, yellow teeth. It then opened its mouth wide, its tongue wagging hungrily, a great cascade of drool falling out of the corner of its mouth._

 _As Leo hurtled towards the beast terror consumed him and he felt his heart pound wildly out of control. His vision darkened and freezing sweat poured soaked his clothes, making them stick to his body. His breathing increased to the point of hyperventilation and he felt himself lose control of his body as panic set in._

 _When the first player fell past the monster's teeth and down its throat, Leo finally did scream, screwing his eyes shut and wailing in absolute terror._

Leo's eyes flew open and he gasped, throwing himself forward and landing on the floor with a thump. He lay there panting, his eyes darting around the room in fear and confusion. His hands shook so violently that his nails clicked loudly against the hardwood floor and he was sure his heart was pounding so loudly that the entire inn could hear it. He tried to swallow and choked, coughing violently before spitting a crimson glob of bloody spit against the floor. Leo groaned and hugged his knees, struggling to erase the images of the players and the monster from his thoughts.

"Leo!" Dain called from the hallway, banging on the door. "Ulric and I heard screaming, are you alright?" Leo lifted his head and tried to answer, but all that came out was a strangled croak.

"Hang on we're coming!" Leo heard Dain move away from the door, then there was a mighty bang and the door shook in its frame, but remained sturdy.

"Come on you're the strongest player in the game, knock it down!" Leo heard Dain say before the door shook again. Ulric tried twice more to break down the door, during which Leo dragged himself to his feet and moved to the door. He waited for Ulric to slam into the door for a third time before opening it. Dain looked surprised for a moment, then rushed forward and grabbed Leo by the shoulders.

"Christ are you okay boss?" Dain asked, looking Leo up and down. "You look like absolute Hell, what happened?" Leo cleared his throat and gently pushed Dain away.

"Don't worry, I'm okay," Leo tried to grin, but it came out as a grimace instead. Dain crossed his arms and glared at Leo.

"You are definitely not okay," Dain said. "Let's all go back in, then you can tell us what happened, okay?" Without waiting for response Dain pushed past Leo and entered his room, Ulric right behind him. Leo sighed and closed the door behind them before sitting in the chair Dain offered him. Dain took a seat right across from him and Ulric leaned against the wall, trying to look nonplussed but the way he stared at Leo made his concern evident.

"Now that we're all comfy," Dain began, leaning forward in his chair. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened," Leo said. "Just a bad dream, that's all." Dain stared at his leader, unimpressed.

"Just a bad dream?" Dain asked. "Leo we could hear you from down the hall, screaming and thrashing, shaking the bed so much we could hear it banging from our rooms. We all have bad dreams, now more than ever, but whatever you had was certainly not a bad dream."

Leo shook his head adamantly. "It was just a nightmare, I promise Dain. I'm fine now." Leo gestured to the empty bottles strewn around the room. "Last night's drinking spree probably didn't help it either."

"Leo that was your third nightmare this week, and the worst one by far. We should really talk about thi-"

"I'm fine Dain."

"No you're not. Leo let us help."

"I said I'm fine."

"Leo-"

"Dammit I said I'm fine!" Leo barked, banging his fist against the arm of the chair. Ulric snorted and Dain narrowed his eyes, staring hard at Leo.

Leo took a breath and relaxed unclenched his hand, running his fingers through his hair.

"Sorry guys," he apologized. "It was a doozy, that's all. I promise I'm fine now though." Dained kept staring sternly at his friend for a few seconds, then sighed and leaned back, his expression softening.

"Okay, if you swear you're fine, then we won't press you," Dain sighed. "But these nightmares, they must be caused by something."

"I can think of one thing," Ulric muttered.

"Besides the death game, Ulric," Dain retorted. "There has to be some kind of trigger to make you have such horrific dreams." Dain was silent for a moment, pondering. "Maybe we shouldn't go out on the frontlines today, you might just need to get away from it all for a bit."

Leo was on his feet before Dain was even done talking.

"Out of the question," leo said. "They need us out there."

"Leo, have you taken a good look at yourself?" Dain asked. "You're in no condition to go out fighting today."

"No, we have to be out there," Leo argued. "We're three of the strongest players in this game, we can't just take breaks whenever we feel like it."

"Leo, as your party-mate, I don't think you are in prime fighting condition right now. You could put this whole group in jeopardy."

"But-"

"As your friend," Dain interrupted. "I am telling you that you cannot go out into the fields today. Not like this."

Leo opened his mouth to argue…

"Leo if we go out today... you will die," Dain whispered. Leo froze as if he was struck, a runaway train of emotions and thoughts creating chaos in his head. He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again and licked his lips. "I can feel it. I don't know how, but I just know in my gut that today is not the day. Call it a premonition, ESP, fate, whatever. I just know."

"Please," Dain whispered. "Just nod." Leo stared at Dain, then slowly nodded.

"Okay!" Dain said, clapping his hands and standing up. He grinned, his perfect teeth flashing white, all thoughts of doom and death forgotten. "Today will be a personal day for us. A rest day for…" Dain trailed off, his brow furrowed. Leo and Ulric glanced at each other, unsure of what their friend was thinking.

"Hey guys," Dain began. "What's our name?" Leo cocked his head quizzically.

"What are you talking about?" Leo asked.

"You know!" Dain insisted, gesturing around the room. "Our name! Like the three musketeers, or the Marx brothers! If we're going to be some of the strongest players in the game, we should have a badass group name." Ulric and Leo stared at Dain, who withered and shrank under their gazes.

"I mean...I guess we don't need a name…" Dain said quietly. Leo opened his mouth to reply, but Ulric beat him to it.

"You're right Dain," Ulric announced.

"Yeah that's a good idea Dain," Leo agreed with a nod. "We do need a name for our little band. As leader, I officially delegate the naming of our group to you, but we all have to agree on the name before we make it official."

"Wait, really?" Dain asked.

"Of course!" Leo assured him. "How are the people on the lower floors supposed to talk about us if we don't have a bitchin' name for ourselves?" Dain beamed.

"Alright, I'm on it!" He declared. "I won't let you down."

"You better not," Ulric said with a cold stare. Leo and Dain stared at him for a few moments, unsure of how to react to his hostility. The big man then smiled and clapped Dain on the shoulder.

"Kidding guys, lighten up." The tension left Dain as quickly as it had arrived and he blew a huge sigh of relief.

"Jeez Ulric, don't scare us like that, we aren't used to it." Ulric raised an eyebrow.

"You aren't used to what?"

"We aren't used to you kidding around!" Dain said with a laugh. "Now come on, let's get out of here; we're burning digital daylight.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It could not have been a more perfect day in the floor 4 village of Rahm. The sun glimmered in the cloudless blue ceiling, bathing the village in warmth. A gentle breeze kept the players cool as they walked through town to rest, repair their armaments, eat, or just relax. Birds chirped overhead as they flitted amongst the apple trees that lined the cobblestone streets. A faint aroma of sugar and yeast wafted throughout the town from the bakery at the center of town.

Drawn in by that heavenly scent, Ulric had decreed that the bakery would be their first stop. Sugary sweet goods fresh from the oven in hand, the trio parked it at an unoccupied table outside the bakery.

As the three unwrapped their treats, the full weight of the foods' smell hit them like a rampaging minotaur, sending their stomachs on the fritz and their salivary glands into overdrive.

"Oh my god where has this food been all my life?" Leo asked, licking his lips hungrily as he stared at his cinnamon roll.

"Less talking, more eating." Ulric said, raising his doughnut to his mouth.

'WAIT!" Leo screeched, grabbing Ulric's arm. Ulric grunted in surprise and hesitated, his doughnut inches from his waiting tongue.

"Jesus what is it?!" Leo asked, alarmed.

"Betcha I can last the longest without eating our food." Dain said slyly. Ulric snorted and shook his arm free. Leo rolled his eyes.

"Get real Dain," Leo said, raising his own treat.

"Don't you two want to hear the stakes at least?"

"Nope."

"No."

"Not even if the prize is this super rare dagger I picked up from a mob last night?" That made the two pause, their goods lowering a fraction. Dain grinned inwardly, sensing that they were close to taking the bait.

"Bullshit." Leo said. "You would have told us if a rare item dropped while we were grinding." Dain shrugged and splayed his hands.

"I just didn't think it was worth telling you. It was getting late and I didn't feel like checking the specs on it. I only realized what it was this morning. I was going to tell you, but then we had that little 'episode' in your room."

"Let's see it then." Ulric demanded. Dain grinned and brought up his inventory. After a moment he drew the dagger with a flourish. Leo sucked in a small, whistling breath through his teeth and Ulric stiffened. It sure was impressive alright.

The blade was about 3 inches in width at the hilt, and it narrowed out as the blade extended before ending in a curve. The flawless metal glistened like silver and caught the light beautifully. The hilt itself seemed to be made from smelted platinum, and strange runes carved into it shone with a mystic blue light. An emerald was inlaid at the bottom of the single hand grip, and other precious gems dotted the crossguard.

To Leo it looked like a work of art, forged by the hands of a master craftsman for a king, or even a god.

To Ulric it looked like a tool for creating death, unlike any other weapon whose' sole purpose was to destroy life.

To Dain it looked like an extremely impressive looking piece of worthless metal. One that was about to net him 3 treats for the price of one.

See Dain wasn't lying, he really did get that knife the previous night during their training. And he did ignore it until the next morning. The only thing he was lying about was its worth. The blade's stats were mediocre at best, and it was ill-suited for actual combat. He visited a merchant to see if it was worth anything as a decoration, but the NPC had laughed him off, saying that the blade was worthless from its fake jewels to the hybrid combination of pretty but worthless ores that had been used for the blade.

But the others didn't know that, and Dain was going to use that to his advantage. They saw a beautiful, super rare, potentially magical weapon with unknown stats and abilities. So Dain was going to use that fact against them.

From the moment Ulric laid eyes on that bakery Dain knew that he had to have as much as he could get his hands on.

Only he didn't bank on the vittles being so expensive.

The one treat he could afford had drained all of the excess cash he could afford to spend and still have funds left over for the essentials (weapons, armor, potions, girls, etc). Distraught, Dain had gazed wistfully at the wide array of baked goods that were out of his reach. But as Leo and Ulric had walked past him, treats in hand, Dain realized that maybe they weren't as out of reach as he thought. He had two more goodies within easy reach, all he had to do was find a way to get to them.

And that's when he remembered the dagger.

The plan followed that realization like thunder following lightning, and Dain knew that the goods were as good eas eaten. His scheme was a simple one.

Dain would initiate the competition, offering the dagger as the reward. Once the contest was fully underway, Dain would play act like he couldn't bear not eating, and simply offer the dagger to the both of them in exchange for their treats. If they refused, Dain would simply persuade them by telling them to think of all the treats they could buy with the money the dagger would fetch.

By that time, their hunger would have set in, clouding their judgement and sending their brains to their stomachs. They would be so focused on the idea of a mountain of sugary, gooey, baked goods that they would fail to realize that if that dagger was as valuable as Dain claimed, he would have cashed it in as soon as possible.

But if there was one thing Dain understood with perfect clarity, it was that the average human male failed to think rationally when money, pretty women, or food was involved.

"So guys?" Dain asked, dangling the dagger under their noses. "Do we have a bet?" They didn't reply immediately, but they didn't have to. Dain could see it in their eyes; they wanted that dagger.

"You'd really bet a sweet blade like that?" Leo asked. Dain shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's not really my style," he replied. "But if you don't want it I could always just give it to someone else. Maybe that cute girl I met in Tolbana…"

"No." Ulric said. "I'm in."

"Ditto."

Dain clapped his hands and smiled widely.

"Well alright then! Now everyone set their food in the middle of the table...good. May the least hungry man win gentlemen. Start!"

XXXXX

15 minutes later the treats sat untouched in the center of the table, glistening in the artificial sunlight. Dain's eyes stared at the treats, but his attention was focused on his two companions. He could tell it was now or never. Both Leo and Ulric had been gradually leaning closer and closer to the treats, until both were bent nearly 45 degrees at the waist. Ulric's mouth had slowly opened as the minutes crawled by until it hung open like a dog.

' _It's time'_ Dain thought. Leo and ulric looked up, startled as Dain suddenly clutched his stomach and threw his head back and took a huge, gasping breath.

"HEADS UP!" A voice called out. The Dain stopped mid-groan and the trio looked around for the source of the yell. A fraction of a second later the pair of players to their right dove from their seats as a figure vaulted over their table, a yellow cloak streaming out behind them. Leo opened his mouth to say something, but only had time to yelp as the player slid across their table like a baseball player and hit the ground running, weaving their way through the crowded square.

Dain's breath caught in his throat as he watched the platter of treats go soaring through the air, arcing gracefully and glimmering against the blue sky. He darted forward, arms outstretched to catch them, but in his heart he knew he would never reach them in time.

His heart sank as he watched their food complete its parabolic flight and come falling back to the ground…only to land safely in Ulric's hands.

"Yes Ulric!" Leo called out, pumping his fist. Ulric grinned and raised the platter triumphantly.

"Get outta my way!" A new voice yelled angrily. Dain turned, eyes wide as he saw a massive player bearing down on him like a freight train. He dove to the side with a yelp, narrowly avoiding getting trampled by the angry player.

Ulric was not as lucky.

Unsure of what to do because of the platter of food in his hands, Ulric hesitated for a fraction of a second before trying to move out of the player's way. Unfortunately, that tiny hesitation was long enough so that Ulric wasn't able to completely avoid the player, and he was clipped as the player ran by.

Any other player would have been sent flying, but Ulric's size kept him grounded. However, the blow was enough to have him spin on his heel like a top and send the goodies flying out of his hands.

With no one there to catch them, the platter once again took flight and came crashing back down. Dain cried out, a sad little sound, as the food splattered against the cobblestones and exploded into polygons.

The trio stared as the blue polygons of what was their food floated up into the air before disappearing. Dain reached forward and grabbed a piece, but it simply vanished in his hand.

In that moment Dain felt a white hot rage erupt in his chest and he slammed his fist against the ground, his lips drawn back in a snarl.

"No one destroys my food and gets away with it!" Dain howled, jumping to his feet and taking off in the direction of the player. "Come on guys, let's go kick that guy's ass!"

Leo and Ulric, feeling equally as angry, lept to their feet and took off behind Dain.

The three players ran after the massive player, their feet pounding along the cobblestones. Despite his size, the player was surprisingly fast on his feet and had managed to put quite a bit of distance between himself and the trio of angry avengers. Luckily, the player was running like a runaway train, smashing any obstacle. All Dain, Leo, and Ulric had to do was follow the trail of smashed objects and dazed players and NPCs.

After a minute of hard running the trio rounded a corner and stopped, for the street had ended and had split in three directions: straight ahead and 45 degrees to the left and right. They looked at each other, then jumped as they heard someone roar in anger followed by a tremendous crash. They immediately took off down the middle path, following the sound. The alley ran straight for about 30 yards before turning sharply to the left.

As Dain rounded the corner he skidded to a stop, Leo and Ulric right behind him. The massive player and the smaller one with the yellow cloak were both pinned underneath an overturned wagon, and barrels littered the alley. Some had cracked open, and ale had begun to flow down the crannies of the cobblestones, filling the air with its buttery aroma.

The massive player was practically frothing at the mouth in his effort to get at the other player, his eyes shining with hate as he struggle to shift the wagon off his waist.

"I'll kill you you stupid bitch!" he roared. "As soon as I get this wagon off me you're dead!"

"Wait...bitch?" Dain remarked. For the first time the trio was able to get a good look at the cloaked player, whose hood had slipped off their head. Long blond hair that shone like sunshine cascaded down her back, and her blue eyes were filled with fear as they darted back and forth between the pinned player and the trio of new arrivals.

"Please help me!" She pleaded. "My ankle is stuck and he wants to kill me, he's crazy!"

"I'M CRAZY?!" The player howled, incredulous. "You're the one who just tried to squash me with a wagon!"

"You were chasing me!" She retorted.

"Because you stole my axe!"

"You gave it to me since you didn't have any money!"

"Biter wasn't part of the deal you dumb cu-"

"Alright both of you shut up!" Both players fell silent at the unmistakable tone of command in Leo's voice. He stepped forward and pointed at the behemoth.

"You!" He began. "Why were you chasing this girl?"

"And why did you have to destroy our treats!?" Dain added before being elbowed by Ulric. The player growled and spat.

"This _girl_ ," he began, spitting the words out through gritted teeth. "Tricked me into buying a potion of invincibility, but I didn't have any money. So she grabbed my axe and took off, and the potion she gave me was nothing more than a potion of restoration in a fancy container."

The girl drew a breath, but Leo glared at her until her mouth closed.

"So she tricked you, why does that mean you have to kill her?" Leo asked.

"I had that axe specially made for me and my skill set, and I've had it for a while. We've been through a lot. So forgive me if I get a little upset when someone TAKES IT!"

"Settle down!" Leo ordered before rounding on the girl. "Your turn, go."

"He's insane!" the girl babbled in fear. I was sitting there, minding my own business when all of the sudden he came out of nowhere and tried to cop a feel! I defended myself, and all of the sudden he goes ballistic, chasing me all through town and screaming about how he's gonna kill me!"

"Liar!" The player roared, lunging towards the girl, who screamed and burst into frightened sobs.

"Ulric, restrain him!" Leo ordered. "Dain, help me move this wagon off her." Dain nodded and grabbed onto one side of the wagon opposite Leo.

"Oh thank you so much!" The girl cried. "He's a maniac!"

"We couldn't just sit by and watch you get hurt." Leo said, nodding to Dain. "On three, okay?"

"You got it boss." Dain replied.

"Alright… one...two...three!" On three Leo and Dain heaved upwards and lifted the wagon up and off the girl's ankle.

The big player had been lying still and silent, waiting. As soon as he felt some of the weight of the wagon lift off his chest he strained his arms violently and threw the wagon off of himself. Ulric grunted in surprise and moved to hold the big player down, but the player sent a hard uppercut into Ulric's jaw and knocked him back into the wall of the alley. Ulric swayed for a moment before falling back against the wall and slowly sliding onto the ground, his head slumped forward. The big player then turned to face the other three players, a murderous glint in his eyes.

"Run, now!" Leo yelled at the girl, pushing her behind him. "Try to find help, the three of us will stop him."

"We will?" Dain asked. The girl nodded and took off, her cloak flying out behind her as she ran down the alley. "I guess we will." Dain sighed and turned to face the player, who was calmly walking towards the pair of them. Leo stepped forward to meet him, his hands held out in a consolatory gesture.

"Look, let's just calm down and talk about thi-" The player sent one giant fist flying into Leo's chest, knocking him flat on his back.

"Leo!" Dain cried out. He glared at the player who was now making his way over to him. "You bastard!" He yelled and charged. The player stood and waited for Dain to come, his arms at his sides. Dain cocked his fist back and threw a punch at the player, aiming to crush his nose.

The player swayed to one side, allowing the punch to pass harmlessly past his face. Then, to Dain's dismay, he grabbed Dain's arm by the elbow as it passed by his ear and spun. Dain felt his feet leave the ground as the player hurled him against the wall of the alley and his head cracked painfully against the stone of the alley, dazing him.

Dain's vision swam as he watched the big player snort and walk over to where Dain lay. The player bent over Dain and grabbed a handful of his hair. Dain cried out in pain as the player yanked Dain's head up.

"Listen up blondie," the player began. "I'm letting you and your friends off easy for now, but if I ever see any of you again then I really will be tempted to kill you. Now I gotta go get that bitch you guys were trying to protect; just stay here and rest up, 'kay champ?"

The player let go of Dain's hair and stood up.

"Oh, one more thing," The player thumbed his chest and grinned. "Engrave this name into your brain and think of me whenever you want to try to play hero again. The name's Hel-"

 _CLANG_

The player's eyes crossed and went glassy, the light leaving them. The player swayed for a moment before falling to the side, landing face to face with Dain.

Dain struggled to lift his head and his eyes swam with tears as his head throbbed with the effort. He blinked hard and cleared his eyes, looking up to take in his savior.

The girl stood there, twirling a frying pan with her finger through the loop in the handle. She tossed it up and caught it expertly, flashing Dain with a dazzling smile.

"Found this in a window just up the alley." She said. "Thought you idiots might need a little help, and looks like I was right."

Dain opened his mouth to speak but the girl bent down and held a finger against his lips.

"Shhhhh...don't speak. Now I appreciate your help in getting that wagon off me, but you didn't do much besides that. I on the other hand, saved your handsome butt from that guy. Tell me, do you think that's equivalent exchange? Because I sure don't. Now how can you make it up to me? I wonder…" The girl paused and made a show of rubbing her chin, pretending to think deeply. Her eyes moved up and down Dain's prone form and stopped at his scabbard. She grinned.

"Now now what do we have here?" She leaned over and grabbed the hilt of Dain's rapier, her hair tickling Dain's face as she moved closer. "This is quite a rare sword, absolutely beautiful."

The girl stood up and held the sword aloft, admiring it. She looked down and flashed Dain a smile.

"This'll do." She said. Dain groaned and struggled to stand, his leaden limbs shaking with the effort. The girl tsked and put her foot on Dain's chest, holding him down.

"None of that." She said. "Its nothing personal, you just have to respect the laws of the world. Everything has a price and all exchanges must be equal." From behind the girl came a soft moan, and she sighed and took her foot off Dain's chest.

"Looks like your leader is waking up." She sighed. "Guess that's my cue to go. You have a good sleep, maybe we'll meet again some day. Stay safe handsome." The last thing Dain saw was a flash of golden hair and the glint of the frying pan flying towards his forehead.

The girl stepped back and tossed the frying pan aside, turning to face Leo, who was on his hands and knees. Leo shook his head and moaned, willing the dots to clear from his vision. Suddenly, he saw a pair of boots on the edge of his gaze and he looked up to see the girl standing above him.

Without the distractions of an immediate threat and a girl who needed help Leo was free to look at the gir. Leo was struck by her beauty and his beleaguered eyes drank in the sight of her. Her golden hair practically glowed in the soft light of the alley and her blue eyes sparkled like sapphires. Her yellow cloak complimented her eyes wonderfully and a white breastplate hugged her figure nicely. Around her waist was a pair of white belts from which hung a variety of potions and pouches. She wore a pair of leggings that clung to her muscular yet not bulky legs. The right leg was yellow like her cloak, the left was white. A long knife was strapped to her left leg.

Leo suddenly realized that his mouth was hanging open and he closed it with a clop. The girl giggled and bent low so that her face was inches from Leo's.

"Thank you for saving me," the girl said. "I really appreciate it, you're my hero." Leo, his addled brain struggling to function with such a beautiful girl so close, clung to the only coherent thought it could muster.

"Cinnamon." Leo said. The girl cocked her head and looked at Leo puzzled. Leo shook his head and tried to think. "Your breath… smells like cinnamon." The girl looked surprised for a moment, then threw her head back and laughed, a gentle and carefree sound. It reminded Leo of silver bells jingling.

He suddenly wanted to hear it more.

"Do you like cinnamon?" The girl asked, smiling. Leo nodded dumbly. "Well then…" the girl whispered, leaning closer. "Have some."

Leo opened his mouth to ask what she meant when she suddenly closed the gap between their faces and pressed her lips against his. He froze and his hairs stood on end as if electrified. His heart thudded wildly in his chest and he just about exploded when her mouth opened and she kissed him deeper. Leo felt himself melt away and his eyes began to close. His brain, already fuzzy from hitting the ground, began to shut down under the girl's passionate onslaught.

The girl felt Leo slip away and she caught his head before it smacked the ground again. As his vision began to go black, the last thing Leo saw was the girl's dazzling smile.

"Have a nice rest, hero," He heard the girl say.

And then he knew no more.

 **A/N: I hope you all enjoyed that chapter, and I hope you all will continue to show support for the story. See you in the next update! Deuces!**


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